Nightwing - The Sins Of The Fathers
by Nightwing1993
Summary: Dick Grayson is in his second year of college, his relationship with Batman strained, he's decided to go solo - but balancing a personal life and vigilantism isn't easy. As he unravels a conspiracy that threatens the whole of Gotham, he realises he needs all the help he can get. Please R&R, I need to know if it's worth continuing.
1. Chapter 1

**Ashes to Ashes**

My ears were ringing and the air was thick with dust, I woke up in a heap amongst piles of rubble. Snow was starting to fall in from the whole that had been blown in ceiling above us. I'd been lucky, there wasn't much debris on top of me and I could only feel a broken rib – nothing in comparison to my last run in with Deathstroke.

I felt drunk, like everything that had just happened was some kind of hallucination – like a bad trip.

My hearing was coming back, I could hear voices now. They were calling for me and Batman. I could only assume they hadn't seen what had happened.

"Nightwing!" It was Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, she ran to where I was laying – her suit was covered in dust and her lip was bleeding, but other than that she looked fairly unscathed. I could only hope my new sidekick had faired the same.

Barbara lifted up my chin to look into my eyes "Nightwing, what happened?" I was a man of many words, but I didn't answer her straight away, I had to pause, to think of how to say it. "Nightwing… Dick, where's Bruce?"

We walked towards the edge of the pit we'd been fighting on top of – I pointed down into the flames and rubble that now filled the sewage duct. "He's down there, Barb" I finally said "He's gone."

** Earlier that year**

College was a drag, especially for someone in my unique position. I was studying a degree in criminal psychology, something I _thought_ I knew a lot about. I figured since I was no longer under Bruce Wayne's care I might want to get myself a job one day – since being a vigilante didn't pay, sadly neither did being in the Titans or I'd have probably stayed on the team.

Unfortunately, my second-year studies weren't going all that well, things were heating up in the criminal underworld of Gotham and I had been out on patrol almost every night for three weeks, leaving very little time for my studies... and sleep. The sleep I'd been involuntarily catching up on in class, much to the professor's dismay.

"Mr Grayson!" Professor Crane called out. I woke up abruptly, I'd been dreaming about my patrol with Barbara the previous night, _lucky I'm not a sleep talker_.

"Yes Professor?" I responded with an awkward smile. The girl to my left, I didn't know her name, let out a little chuckle. The professor's spectacles were perched on the end of his long nose, he glared right at me with his piercing eyes.

"I was wondering if you had any insight on the question I just asked, Mr Grayson?"

"Erm, could you repeat the question?" I had no idea what he'd said, _obviously_.

"A little hard of hearing are we?" He growled. He pointed to the girl sitting to my left "Miss Daggett, could you please enlighten our poor friend?"

The girl turned and looked at me, she was beautiful with long blonde hair tied up. She wore glasses but I could see that she had crystal blue eyes – clearly one of the popular girls, which made it all the more embarrassing when she slowly worded the professors question out for me

"The professor" she started, her tone was one of someone who was deeply annoyed "Which is that man over there at the front of class if you'd forgotten, wanted to know what you thought to Walter Langer's profiling of high-ranking war criminals during World War II" I looked at her blankly, I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Miss Daggett, could you please share a few of your notes with our slumberous friend" Crane droned. _Miss Daggett_ looked less than impressed, I could tell that it was going to be one hell of a long class.

*** As we were leaving the class one of my best friends, Emily, ran up to me. She was short with dark hair tied up in a bobble and she wore those 'ironic' hipster glasses, she always wore the same black hoodie and some kind of pop culture T-Shirt, today it was Star Wars, the ensemble was usually completed with some denim shorts, black tights and a pair of chequered canvas pumps. We'd been friends since High School, probably because we were both outcasts in our own ways.

"Dude, that was brutal" She smirked.

"I'm aware of that" I replied with a yawn.

"Out again last night?"

"Yeah, I uhm, went to a bar"

"What bar was that then?"

"One down by the docks, I went with Barb" I wasn't lying, we'd been down at a biker bar the previous night – just your usual run of the mill information interrogation with the barman. We were looking for members of the _Brothers of Satan_ gang, who we'd traced from more than a few drug related crime scenes.

"The docks? As in Bleake Island Docks? You sure you weren't looking to score some crack?" She laughed.

"Oh you know me…"

"You do know it's not good to spend so much time with your ex" She looked disapprovingly at me, I knew she was right but beating on criminals with your ex is a little different from going on a dinner date "You've not hung out with me and Nate in a while you know, he's gonna start thinking you don't like him"

Nathan was another buddy from high school, he was a little older than Emily and I – he went straight into the police force after school. A choice I can't say I was a big fan of, I didn't like the idea of him being in so much danger. But it did have its perks in terms of information. I tried to avoid going to Jim Gordon for info where possible, that way I wouldn't run into Bruce.

Emily and Nate were clueless about my secret identity; lazy student Dick Grayson wasn't exactly a prime suspect for masked vigilante in their eyes.

"I'll try and come out with you on Thursday?" I smiled.

"Dick…"

"What?"

"It _is_ Thursday"

"Oh… Friday then?" I couldn't go that night, I had to follow up on a lead from our little interrogation the night before.

"Fine, Friday. But you'd better call me, I can't deal with your flakiness this weekend"

*** The rooftops were my natural habitat; it was such a feeling of freedom jumping from roof to roof in the night air – I definitely wasn't going to fall asleep doing this. I'd learned to walk on a high wire so it was second nature to me to be soaring through the air without a safety net.

I was following a biker who's bike I'd put a GPS tracker on, the barman had given us word that the guy would be moving shipments of drugs for someone in the city but we didn't know who. It was testament to my overall stamina that I managed to keep up with him – all the running did make me miss my Wingcycle, but I wasn't gonna go crawling back to Bruce and ask him for it.

I'd followed the guy for about a mile and a half when he finally stopped and got off his bike. He untied the small package from the back of his Harley Davidson and walked up a back alley to the service entrance of what appeared to be a local deli. There wasn't much of a vantage point for me to see what was going on.

The biker pressed on a buzzer on the outside wall. After about a minute of him pacing back and forth I heard the service door open up – a guy stepped out and walked down the ramp toward the biker, he was wearing a grey suit, he looked very business-like; but I'd seen plenty of hired goons that wore suits so that didn't really mean anything.

The _Brother of Satan_ passed the other man the package he'd brought across town. The recipient slit the tape on the parcel and peeked inside, he nodded. It was beginning to look like a run of the mill drug deal.

Still, I wasn't going to turn down an opportunity to remove some drug pushing scumbags from the street.

Nothing was happening, I was going in.

I jumped across the alley and, _silently as I could_ , dropped on to the fire escape above the two men. Neither of them flinched so they mustn't have heard me. I lowered myself down on the grapple hook until I was hanging upside down just above their heads, _I loved this part_.

"Boo!" I said with a smile as I knocked the two men's heads together.

"Shit, it's the bat!" The biker shouted as he stumbled back and tried to draw his gun. A swift kick saw his pistol fly into the dumpster against the alley wall. As the kick connected I twisted my torso to get in a position to follow the kick with a punch to the suited stranger's face. The two men dropped to the floor simultaneously – the suit was out cold.

The biker started to crawl away, _the moron_.

I was about to go after him when I heard a click behind me, _damn it_ , it had to be a gun – the click was followed by a hum which sort of resembled the sound of a large refrigerator.

"Hello, Batman" A monotone voice droned out, oh god, it was a refrigerator.

I turned around quickly "Wrong!" I responded, the man fired a bolt of ice at me from his gun – I dodged out of the way, just barely "Mr Freeze, long time no see!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Ice, Ice Baby**

Doctor Victor Fries was once a brilliant scientist. His wife got sick and he was struggling to find a cure when he invented his freeze gun. His first act as _Mr Freeze_ was to save his wife by putting her into a cryogenic state. Someone tampered with his experiments and caused an explosion, he ended up getting knocked into a vat of chemicals which altered his body, making it impossible for him to properly regulate his temperature – his wife, Nora, was killed in the blast.

The deluded doctor went on to wear a gargantuan suit of armour that kept his body temperature at zero, with a glass dome over his head and some bright red goggles. I assumed that there was some kind of use for them, but I did wonder if he just picked them to make himself look scarier. The doctor's once-brilliant mind then turned to crime, he'd become a bit of a goon-for-hire in recent years, he seemed to be trying to accumulate cash for _something_.

"You're not Batman, how disappointing" He said, without a shred of emotion in his voice "No matter, I will settle for Robin"

"I'm not…" He fired straight at me before I could finish, I back-flipped on to the dumpster behind me and he fired again – I responded with another flip which got me to safety behind the dumpster. I noticed the Biker I'd just knocked down hadn't managed to make it very far down the alley, maybe he could tell me why Freeze was here…

I un-holstered my Escrima Sticks and rolled across the alley to get myself behind some trash cans. Freeze fired again, much closer this time, I could feel the chill on my neck.

"Hey Freeze… Do you wanna build a _snowman_?" I shouted tunefully, in an attempt to rile him.

He answered me with another bolt of ice, freezing the trash cans I was behind completely. I had to move fast or I was going to end up as a lovely Nightwing-shaped popsicle.

"I gotta say, it's an embarrassing step down for you – protecting some lowly drug pushers!" I taunted.

He didn't respond, he wasn't an easy person to taunt – very serious.

It was time for the trusty grapple hook built-in to my Escrima stick. I took aim at the top of the fire escape I had dropped down from and fired my line, Freeze fired at it – but missed it by an inch, which gave me time to zip up to the roof.

I dropped flat on to the roof for a second to get my bearings. It took a few seconds to figure out my next move. The Escrima Sticks had a built-in electronic pulse which acted like a tazer, among other useful gadgets, with that in mind I threw a pair of smoke pellets down at Freeze to impair his vision.

I waited for the smoke to build up and turned on the thermal vision in my domino mask, he wasn't the clearest target in terms of heat but there was enough heat being expelled from the suit for me to know where to strike.

Leaping from the roof I landed feet first on Freeze's glass helm, barely cracking it as I somersaulted backwards. Upon landing I jabbed the Escrima Sticks into his back using the tazer function to zap his suit.

I'd gotten lucky – the electric pulse surged through his suit and threw him straight into the wall. His fishbowl smashing on impact. He let out one final groan before passing out.

That was too easy, I thought to myself. Every prior encounter I'd had with Freeze had been much more complicated, he must have gotten rusty in his old age – or I was just _that_ good.

Sadly, the biker and his suited friend had escaped in the commotion – but my GPS tracker was still on the bike so at least one of them wouldn't be on the streets for much longer.

I flipped Freeze over and disconnected his freezing gun, sending out a call to the GCPD as I did. I cuffed the ice giant to a drain pipe so he couldn't go anywhere while I carried out my investigation.

As I suspected, the package which the suited goon had kindly dropped in the loading bay contained a few bundles of what looked like cocaine. Mr Freeze seemed like quite an expensive bodyguard for a measly drug deal like this one… Maybe he just didn't care anymore. I took a few sample bags of the drugs for analysis, just in case.

There was a key that had been left in an electric lock next to a large corrugated steel door – I pressed it and the door slowly creaked open.

Beyond the door was a warehouse which was connected to the back of the Deli, it was completely empty bar a few shelves – it must have been a very new drug operation. The building wasn't registered in anyone's name so we didn't have a suspect, but whoever was running this gig must have already had some serious cash to play with if they could afford protection from Mr. Freeze – either that or the good doctor had really lowered his hourly rates.

I waited on the roof for the police to arrive and take Freeze back to Arkham, I couldn't stick around though – I had an investigation to finish.

*** I lived in a crappy apartment within walking distance of the University, it wasn't well decorated, it wasn't well furnished, but it was mine – plus, it came with a kickass loft. The loft was my own personal Batcave - granted, like the rest of the apartment, it wasn't much to look at. It was a juxtaposition of computers, security systems, and rustic wooden beams, _an interior decorator's worst nightmare_. The equipment was all salvaged from Bruce's old equipment that Barbara brought for me when I left the mansion. She even set me up my own secret door behind a bookcase which I was strangely proud of, very cliché. Alfred populated the bookcase with books and DVDs that he insisted I _must_ take a look at, he gave me my movie education growing up – that's why the fingerprint scanner to open the loft is attached to his favourite movie, _Errol Flynn's Robin Hood_.

I got home that night at around 1am, which was pretty early considering. The chemical analysis machine that Barb had put together for me made an awful humming noise when I turned it on, it was one of a few pieces of kit that I really needed to replace. I poured a few grains of the white powder in the machine. Naturally it stalled and I had to give it a hit to get it going again.

While the chemical analysis was going on I checked my tracker for the biker, unfortunately the signal was dead. It meant I'd eventually have to put some more time in at the biker bar to find the guy.

The screen eventually lit up on the Chemical Analysis Machine with the word 'match' all across it, with cocaine you can often trace certain manufacturer's marks or environmental conditions. Only this wasn't cocaine, according to my rickety machine, it was Star City's favourite addictive substance - _Vertigo_.


	3. Chapter 3

**Just One Fix**

Another day, another lovely Criminal Psychology lesson with creepy Professor Crane. It was hard to focus on the lessons knowing that Vertigo was back in town – it had been a big deal in Star City, causing mass addiction. From what I knew, the centres that Oliver Queen funded to rehabilitate Vertigo addicts were still very much in operation. Rumour had it that the Green Arrow put the only supplier, a guy who aptly named himself Count Vertigo,out of business _permanently._

"Today we will be focussing our attention on a very relevant topic, especially to our fair city of Gotham" Crane began "We will be studying the psychology and motivations of masked vigilantes"

 _Great_ , just what I needed, a classroom full of people theorising my motivations in life.

"I'm going to put you in pairs for this assignment" he continued "You and your partner, which I will select, have to research vigilantes and their decisions – and conclude whether or not you believe these acts to be necessary and justified or just a blatant disregard for our laws and rules. I'll be very interested to see people's conclusions"

I'd only ever seen Crane smile when he was causing misery to someone, which meant he was about to do something evil. Classroom evil anyway, not Joker evil.

"So your partnerships are as follows…" Crane began to run off a list of names, it was crazy how many names I didn't recognise – I needed to socialise more "…Emily Briggs, your partner will be Tyreese Anderson" Emily looked at me and rolled her eyes, Crane knew that Emily and Tyreese were from completely different social groups and had no interest in spending time together – I could see where this list was going.

"…Dick Grayson" Finally "You'll be partnered with Melissa Daggett" I saw him smirk again, Melissa was the girl who'd had to patronisingly explain what I'd missed during my nap in Crane's previous lecture - this was embarrassing, _the bastard_.

Melissa turned her head to look at me, she'd purposely avoided making eye contact with me until that point, she didn't look impressed. What made matters worse was that she was still stunningly beautiful, even more so than I remembered from the day before. This was shaping up to be a fantastic week.

*** Once class was over I made my way back to my apartment, Emily had caught up with me outside of class to tease me on my new _study buddy_ as she so humorously put it.

As much as I'd have liked to dwell on the awkwardness of my predicament like a normal human being, I had superheroey type stuff to do - I called Barbara on the way home to get her assistance on the Vertigo situation.

"Hey, Dick – what's up?"

"I need you to come over tonight if you can, I could use your help"

"Is it important? Like, _super_ important?"

"I'd say so… Depends if your other plans are _super_ important"

"I have a date" I had to pause for a second, Barb and I dated for quite a while and I still wasn't comfortable talking to her about relationship-style things.

"Oh… in that case can I just send a sample to the Batcave for you to analyse?"

"Sure, no problem"

It looked as if I was getting an early night.

*** It was very rare that I got an afternoon off from being both Dick Grayson _and_ Nightwing, so it was nice to catch up on some shut-eye. I was in the middle of a particularly good dream about fighting various criminals with a large wooden mallet, when there was an incredibly loud knock at my door. _Maybe Barbara's date didn't go so well_.

Pulling on a T-shirt I made my way to the door.

"Surprise!" Emily shouted as I opened the door. She and Nate were stood in my hallway with a crate of beer.

Nate had a shaved head and a goatee which made him look like he was much older than us – when in fact he was only older by about two years. He was a bulky guy with a ripped physique, he spent a lot of time in the gym, he normally wore skin-tight t shirts to show off his muscles. He came from a very poor African-American family and had grown up in a rough neighbourhood.

Nate's older brother had died in a gang shootout – but instead of following in his brother's footsteps and going down the wrong path he turned his anger into something positive and joined the Police Force.

"Hey guys, what's the occasion?" I yawned, rubbing my eyes.

"Dude, we were meeting tonight – I knew you'd flake!"

"She did say you were gonna flake, Grayson" Nate chimed in.

"Sorry guys, I totally forgot, I'm a little overworked right now – I'm not really dressed to go out either" I pathetically replied.

"Hence the beers, my brother" Nate grinned and walked right past me into my lounge.

Emily laughed and followed him in.

" _Sure guys, come on in, make yourselves at home"_ I said to myself.

Emily and Nate sat on the sofa and I took the armchair to the left. Nate passed me an open beer "Thanks" I responded. Emily switched on the TV, Bruce was on the news at some kind of gala.

"Oh look it's your big famous daddy" Emily joked.

"Very funny, can we just watch a movie or something?" I asked.

" _Sure_ " Emily hopped up and skipped over to my bookcase. She began skimming through the various titles, I had the strangest vision of her pulling the wrong DVD and opening my secret door which left a bit of a nervous lump in my throat. "Dude, your movies are all really effin' old"

"Just 'cause you only like films that were made in the last five years…" I responded.

"Ha, you know I love Star Wars"

"True, bet you love the prequels more – all that beautiful CGI"

"Don't even get me started on that shit" Nate chimed in "I mean, Jar Jar Binks, the hell is that?"

"Don't get _me_ started on that, damn you Lucas"

"Yousa finda me a movie yet?" I mocked.

"Seriously dude, I got nothin'. I mean, you actually have a copy of _Without a Paddle_ – you're so uncool it hurts" _How could she say that_ , I thought to myself.

"Without a Paddle is a severely underrated movie" I protested, Nate gave me a look of frightened disgust.

"Bro…" He said, judgmentally.

"Well what do you suggest?"

"You got _Marley and Me_ over there?" He asked, Emily and I turned our heads to him in confusion "What? It's a great movie"

"You were giving me dirty looks over _Without a Paddle_ , but you wanna watch _Marley and Me_?"

"That movie is a classic, it gives me serious feels!"

"Serious _feels_?" Emily scowled "I never expected someone as masculine as you to have _feels_ in your vocab"

"Man, I cried more at that movie than I did at _Schindler's List_ " Nate said with pride.

"A movie about a dog, upset you more than a movie about the Holocaust… I give up, let's just watch _Without a Paddle_ " She declared, making her way to the DVD player.

"So, Nate how's things down at the GCPD?" I asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Pretty standard, Batman takes care of the big guns and we clean it up – you won't believe who I had to bring in the other day" Nate seemed pretty excited, I had to play along even though I knew what he was going to say.

"Go on?"

"Mr Freeze"

"No way, what was that like?"

"Crazy man, I mean he didn't really do anything 'cause Batman had already knocked him out – and the Major Crimes Unit got to do all of the actual legwork, we were just the backup" Bruce was always getting the credit for my handy-work, Freeze probably said it was Batman too to avoid the embarrassment of saying he got his ass kicked by 'Robin' in spite of the fact I'm actually Nightwing now. You'd think after two years as Nightwing people would remember the name.

"You ever seen the Bat?" Emily interjected.

"I saw him running across a rooftop once after he'd stopped a robbery" Nate claimed - _Wrong,_ _that was me too_.

"We're doing a project on caped-crusaders in class this week, Dick has been partnered up with his _girlfriend_ " She laughed.

"Oh shit, the hot chick you totally embarrassed yourself in front of yesterday?" Nate asked.

"Do you guys just talk about everything?" I asked, annoyed.

Emily shrugged "Pretty much!"

"Seriously though - you need to get out there, bro" Nate said "I mean, we loved Barb and everything but you gotta move on, man – I could totally set you up with someone from the station"

He was right, but I wasn't exactly in a relationship headspace and I also wasn't into blind dates "A blind date?" I quizzed "Maybe come back with that idea in a couple months"

"Months? You'll be all Lady Havisham by then, dude" Emily joked "I can see it now, you sat by your window all covered in cobwebs" I couldn't help but laugh.

"Sometimes I wonder why I even hang around with you guys"

*** There was a loud knocking at my door the next morning. "Dick Grayson?" A voice shouted, _who the hell could it be?_ I cautiously approached the door, the voice was female but I couldn't figure out who it was through the door… _Harley Quinn? Catwoman? Have I been rumbled?_ I opened the door sharply in the hope of surprising whoever was behind it with my fist raised.

"What the hell are you doing?" _Great,_ _Melissa Daggett_ "Do you always assume you're in danger when someone knocks at 10am on a Saturday morning?"

"I uhm, had a few drinks last night" I replied, feebly.

"I can see that" She looked me up and down "You could have at least put some pants on"

"So other than the early morning criticisms, what are you doing here?"

"Early? 10am is not early. I'm here because we have an assignment to work on, and I'm not going to let your sleeping habits drag down my grade" She barged past me and into my lounge, inconsiderately dropping her bag on my coffee table. The unwelcome intruder then opened the curtains to my balcony "You could have cleaned up" her eyes pointed at the glass bottles and empty pizza boxes decorating my floor.

"I didn't know you were coming – in fact, how do you know where I live?"

"It's in the college database, obviously" Her tone was incredibly patronising. _Maybe I could knock her out with a tranq-dart and go back to sleep? Probably not a good idea_.

Melissa traversed my apartment with Flash-like speed, cleaning up my mess as she went. If I hadn't met the _real_ Flash I'd have probably been amazed by her superhuman ability to clean.

"Much better" she said "Are you just going to stand there? We've got work to do"

"Let me just go grab some pants"

"OK, hurry up"

I was half tempted to lock my bedroom door and climb out of the window, Melissa had been there all of five minutes and it was already unbearable.

"So I was thinking" she shouted through the door "We do our piece on the Batman"

 _Not only was I living in Bruce's shadow, I had to write a whole paper on him – fantastic._

*** "… And I say we end this first part with a note on how, while Batman should still be treated with caution, he has a much more positive effect than a negative one on Gotham" _Couldn't have put it better myself._

"Sure, sounds good" I replied with zero percent enthusiasm.

"See" She smiled "This wasn't a _completely_ awful experience. I think if I come over one-night next week we can have this finished"

"Alright, but maybe warn me next time"

She intrusively picked up my cell phone and typed in her number "There, I'll call you when I know which night I'm available" She got up and signalled me to walk her to the door.

"Cool, see you in class I guess – thanks for cleaning up"

"Later, Grayson"

I bolted the door the second it closed behind her, it was time to start looking into the Vertigo problem.

I ran several more scans on the compound, the evidence indisputable, it was definitely Vertigo. It did seem odd to see Vertigo in powder form; it was normally sold as a pill. So maybe whoever was carrying it was planning to manufacture the pills in Gotham. My phone began to vibrate on the desk, it was Barb.

"Hey Barb, you get the sample I sent over to the cave?"

"Yeah Dick, I'm running an analysis now – it's Vertigo alright, but it's been tampered with"

"Tampered with?"

"Yeah, it's a much higher concentration than I've ever seen it before – be careful with it"

"Higher concentration huh? What's that about, making it more addictive?"

"From what I can see it would enhance the effects, it's a hallucinogenic compound so I can imagine the trip would be quite something – I'll call you back when I've run a few tests"

"Thanks Barb"

I needed some new equipment, my chemical scanner was clearly way behind the times. It groaned some more so I switched it off at the mains to avoid getting electrocuted – _I definitely missed the tech at the Batcave sometimes._

 _I could use some fresh air_ , I thought to myself. It had been two days since my last outing as Nightwing, I was certainly due a patrol.

The police radio was another thing in my loft that needed some modernising, it was starting to flicker and crack up. I sat and listened for some small crime I could put an end to, nothing came up that the police needed my help with… I guess I should have been happy about that. I decided to stretch my legs anyway.


	4. Chapter 4

**A Walk Across the Rooftops**

Bleake Island was my best bet at finding a crime to stop. Over the years it had been home to various low-level criminal organisations, some of which still inhabited its rundown apartment blocks and warehouses. The Mayor was attempting to fund a massive renovation of the area, which had to be stopped due to the construction workers being harassed by members of the local mob. Bruce and I tried to crack down on it and get the project moving again, but like most things in Gotham the fear had already set in and the plans were put away. Bruce's long term plans for Gotham included continuing the Mayor's project with his own funds, eventually.

The highest point of the Bleake Island area was the half-built Stromwell Apartment Complex, the last vestige of the Mayor's renovation plan. I grappled my way to the top of the building, which was now home to squatters and homeless people. It was a sad sight to behold but at least they had a roof over their heads for the night.

The night was clear of fog so I could see for miles when I got to the top of the highest beam. It wasn't long before something caught my eye, a curious figure hopping from roof to roof. From a distance it looked like it could have been Bruce or Barbara running along the apartment blocks below me. That was until I saw the figure stumble and lose balance, very nearly falling to a very quick and splattery death. I flipped on my binoculars to take a closer look. The figure was hooded and cloaked, head to toe in purple – I couldn't make out a face from the angle I was at. My new purple covered friend was trying to pull their way up on to the building. Criminal or not, I wasn't about to let this person fall to their death.

I zipped down to the next highest ledge I could see, it was still a fair way to go before I could get to the purple stranger. I ran as fast as I could, jumping from roof to roof as I went. The stranger had managed to just get up the ledge as I arrived. I easily cleared the gap where the purple wannabe had fumbled.

The stranger was quickly alerted to my presence and began to run, I could tell from her figure that she was a woman. She started to run "Wait up!" I called. She wasn't listening, she carried on running and looking over her shoulder in the hope that she'd lose me.

"Woah, shit!" I heard her shriek as she stopped abruptly – she'd come to the end of the line, even I couldn't clear the gap to the next building without my grapple hook. "Don't come any closer, I'm pretty dangerous you know!" She threatened. I looked her up and down, her costume was homemade and she'd ripped the knee, most likely when she was scrambling up the wall.

"Sure you are, you looked terrifying as hell when you nearly fell to your death" I laughed.

"Screw you Nightwing"

"Hey I'm not Bat… Wait what?" She knew who I was, this was new.

"Huh?"

"Never mind, what are you doing up here? You could get yourself killed"

Her face was completely covered with a plain black mask, but I could tell she was scowling at me. "I was training!"

"Training for what?"

"None of your business. Hey look out!" She pointed behind me, I spun quickly into an attack position. There was nothing there, _I can't believe I fell for that._

When I turned back around she had disappeared, I ran to the ledge where she'd been standing. She was hanging from a broken fire escape which she obviously thought she could escape down.

"Little help" She said, defeated. I hopped on to the fire escape and pulled her up. We both climbed on to the rooftop.

"So come on, who are you?" I asked her.

"I'm the Spoiler" She said, proudly.

"Spoiler?" I sniggered "I meant your real name"

"I'm not telling; you're not exactly going to tell me yours _are_ you"

"Of course I am!"

"Really?"

"No, but seriously – you shouldn't be up here"

"Why? What's the difference between me and you?!"

"I'm wearing high-tech armour, you're in a cloth purple jumpsuit"

I could tell she was frowning again. I suddenly heard a blip on my scanner – my biker friend was back, and he was close.

"What was that?" she asked.

"None of your business, _Spoiler_ " I turned and hopped on to the building ledge "I'll be back, don't go anywhere"

"Yeah, like I'm gonna just stick around." I imagined her rolling her eyes under the mask, but I didn't have time to wait around.

"Look, I don't wanna see you up here again, kid" I lectured "You could hurt yourself"

"Kid? Screw you, asshole"

"Charming"

*** It didn't take long for me to catch up to my biker friend again, this time he wasn't riding alone. They were riding in a group of three - making their way to the bar near Miller Harbour where Barb and I had met them in the first place.

I perched myself on a rooftop across the way from the 'Panhead' bar. My bikers, _the Brothers of Satan_ , were wearing Denim cuts as opposed to leather, which made them easier to spot in a crowd. Unfortunately for me there was quite a crowd, it must have been some kind of biker happy hour. It looked like I was playing the waiting game – even I couldn't confidently take down thirty angry bikers by myself.

*** I'd been sat for over an hour before I got my cue. I'd been hoping to get my target as he left on his own, _but this was even better_. I could hear shouting and smashing glass – a fight had broken out and bikers were spilling on to the street. Luckily for me, my biker was among them.

I slid down the side of the building and into the alley below, there wasn't much need for stealth now, I could have shouted at the top of my voice and they wouldn't have been any the wiser. I unholstered my trusty Escrima Sticks and got to work.

The first biker to spot me shouted "Hey, look it's Nightwing!" _He knew my name;_ I was flattered as my baton hit him square in the jaw. A roundhouse kick dispatched his nearest associate. I made my way through the crowd at walking pace, only fighting the bikers that noticed me – which was a surprisingly small amount of them.

My target was in sight, but before I could get to him he spotted me. "Shit, shit it's him!" He shouted – punching an opposing biker in the face as he did. He ran back into the bar, I had to get on him quick before he got to a vehicle.

I dashed through the crowd to the bar entrance, a large biker with a long wiry black beard swung at me with a lead pipe. Managing to duck just in the nick of time "Nice try!" I retorted, knocking him out with a lightning-fast uppercut to the chin.

 _BANG! BANG! BANG!_ Bullets crashed through the bar door, one bullet hitting a member of the crowd in his arm. The rabble dispersed quickly in a mad frenzy to find their respective bikes. I burst through the bar window and took cover behind a pool table. My biker and his friends were waiting for me, armed to the teeth. The air filled with the sound of gunshots, the pool table wasn't going to last as cover.

"Come on guys, I just came here for a quiet drink!" I shouted as I threw down a smoke pellet and leapt toward the bar. _Argh_ I felt a bullet graze the back of my right calf, the old suit wasn't going to last much longer if I kept letting stuff like that happen.

I counted that each goon had no more than four shots left before he'd have to reload. With that in mind I threw a batarang at the nearest light switch and the room went dark. With a hard kick at the shelf behind the bar, bottles of liquor began to fall and smash – in a panic the bikers opened fire and used the last of their bullets.

I let out a laugh as I leapt up over the bar, landing a punch on the first goon's nose which sent him flying into a table. The second pulled a knife and charged at me, "You ain't getting out of here alive, boy!" in ducking motion I flipped him over my shoulder and over the bar,

"You were saying?" I laughed, it was just me and my target.

"Don't come any closer, I'm warning you!" He threatened reaching for bottle.

"Really? Your buddy was way bigger than you, you might as well just give up" Before he had time to lunge I kicked him in his gut and bowled him over with an uppercut.

*** The biker's eyes opened slowly "Wakey, wakey!" I smiled. It took him a few seconds to realise he was hanging upside down from the top of the Stromwell Building.

"Oh god, help! Somebody help!" He began to scream "Shit, I don't wanna die man!"

"You won't die, as long as you answer a few questions for me" I responded coldly.

"Anything, god what do you wanna know!"

"Start with your name"

"Clancy, Clancy Wolfman!"

"Good, alright Clancy – why are you helping bring Vertigo into my town?!"

"It was just a job! I bumped into some suits down at the harbour and they offered me cash to move take some packages from point A to point B"

"Suits? Who were they?"

"Business-types I don't know! They just flashed some cash, I didn't need details after that"

"Mr Freeze is hardly small time like yourself, no offence, so why'd they need you to move the stuff"

"That's what I said!" Clancy concurred "They paid me big bucks too"

"They can't be starting a massive operation on such small amounts, it's gotta be something else" I pondered "Why did your guy at the bar think you were running a bigger ring?"

"You know what bar staff are like, man, he musta heard half a story when I was talkin' to my crew and filled in the blanks with his imagination"

"Sounds plausible,"

"So whatd'ya say you let me go?" Clancy laughed, I laughed along with him.

"Sure, buddy!" I smiled, and let go of the rope I was holding him with.

"Shiiiiiiiit!" He screamed as he fell. I caught the rope and pulled him back up.

" _Clancy, Clancy, Clancy_ – you're trying my patience, I need some leads"

"OK! OK! I know that the stuff comes from Star City"

"Not good enough, Clancy!" I started to loosen the rope.

"Wait! OK, there was something else – one of the guys I met, he was some sorta doctor. I didn't see his face, he had one o' those surgical masks on, but he told me that I wasn't allowed to sell any of the stuff under any circumstance. And that if I did he'd know, and he'd kill me"

"And did you sell any?"

"Yeah of course I did, that Vertigo stuff is hot shit! What's one little bag out of twenty?"

"To who?"

"I dunno, one of the guys at the bar – I swear that's all I know! You caught me on my way to my first drop off and they ain't been in contact since."

"Thanks Clancy, I'll be seeing ya!" I punched him and knocked him out cold. Clancy was going to wake up the next morning in a nice cosy dumpster with one hell of a headache.

*** Spoiler was gone when I got back to the rooftop, not surprising since it was nearly dawn. My amateur free-running friend had left me a nice clue though. When she fumbled her landing over the alleyway she must have grazed her knee on the wall. I had to lean over to get a swab but I managed to find a spec of blood. If Spoiler was in the criminal database, I would be able to find her. And if not I could at least keep her on file.

*** It had been a while since I used the Chemical Analysis Machine to find DNA, the crappy old machine probably wasn't going to come up with a match. Even so, I was going to give it a go.

When I got to the loft I patched my leg up with a bandage, _lucky it was just a graze or I'd be out of action for a while_.

I switched my creaky machine back on at the mains – it was beeping and groaning more than ever this time. First things first I had to clean the vertigo out of the machine. To my surprise the machine fizzed and spat out some sparks. I jumped back instinctively, the machine sparked again – this time the sparks hit the granules of Vertigo that were on the table.

The granules ignited with a flash, the fumes knocking me on to my back. I tried to kick the table over and put out the fire but the room had already filled with a smog.

All I could see was a thick grey mist "Dick? Dick are you alright?" A familiar voice called through the smog. _Who could be up here?_ "Dick, here let me help you" A hand stretched out to help me up, I took it and got to my feet. The air cleared almost instantly. "Hello, brother"

I felt a chill in my bones, _it wasn't possible_ "Jason?! But… You're dead!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Live Like You Were Dying**

When somebody you love dies, it leaves a scar. The pain dulls but it never fully heals. I had my fair share of scars; my parents, my Aunt Harriet… But the scar that Jason Todd had left behind was by far the biggest, and the most painful. Seeing him again as clear as the reflection in Alfred's immaculate silverware, it felt like that scar had been ripped right open.

Jason was murdered over a year ago. The Joker had killed his father and lured him to a warehouse on the outskirts of Gotham. By the time Bruce and I got there Jason was already dead, he'd been beaten to death with a crowbar. _So why was he standing in front of me now, in my very own loft?_

"What's the matter Dick, aren't you happy to see me?" Jason asked. He was wearing his Robin costume, covered in blood, just like the last time I saw him – when Bruce and I found his body.

"Can't you face me, Dick? Can't you face the brother you failed to protect? The brother who counted on you? The brother you let die?!" He was right, I should have saved him, I should have known he was going after the Joker. I'd done the same thing when I was younger. Bruce stopped me from going after Tony Zucco, the man who killed my parents, why couldn't I do the same for Jason?

This had to be some kind of nightmare, some kind of terrifying dream that I was about to wake up from. I hit myself across the face to try and wake myself up. I closed my eyes and wished him away.

"Still here, Dick, still here!" He shouted maniacally, this wasn't the Jason I remembered… He was warped and deranged, as if he'd been left in the warehouse all that time with no one to come and help him.

"No, you're not real, you can't be here!" I shouted, desperately trying to make my words come true.

A chilling laugh filled my eardrums. Jason being there seemed to be the least of my worries, the voice on the other end of that laugh was one I'd not heard in a long time – an old enemy who I'd also assumed was dead.

"We're all here, Dicky!" It was the Joker, the clown prince of crime, the man who murdered my friend and still haunted my every nightmare. He strolled towards Jason, crowbar in hand. A spring in his step as he danced around Jason, taunting him with the crowbar.

"Save me, Dick!" Jason screamed "You have to help me"

The Joker laughed hysterically and struck Jason across the face.

"No!" I shouted as I got up to charge at him. the earthshattering sound of a snapping tightrope filled my ears as a baseball bat appeared as if from nowhere and struck me in the stomach, causing me to crumple to my knees. Before I knew what was happening I was tied up. I felt a woman's lips caressing my neck.

"We're only here to watch, puddin'" It was Harley Quinn, the Joker's favourite toy. She'd once been a doctor at Arkham Asylum, the Joker had driven her mad and now she was his faithful sidekick "Go on Mr J! Give him what for!"

"With _pleasure_ my dear" The clown laughed, striking Jason again.

"Why won't you help me!? Dick please!" Jason screamed.

"Jason! Hold on!" I called to him. I couldn't move.

"Ah Ah Ahhh, no talkin' puddin' Mr J is tryin' to work" Harley commanded as she straddled across my lap and forced a cloth into my mouth. I tried to shout but all I could do was watch as the Joker beat Jason to death right before my eyes his screams had dulled with every strike until he was almost completely silent, he and Harley laughing blood spattered from Jason and on to my face.

With one final strike to his head Jason collapsed and began to bleed out on the floor. I wanted to scream. Harley was holding my eyes open so that I couldn't look away.

"This is all your fault, brother, all your fault" Jason winced as he let out his last breath.

Harley skipped over to his lifeless body. "Great job Mr J!" She grinned – wiping the blood on Jason's face into a smile.

"Thank you, my dear, he was due a makeover!" the Joker cackled "Now for Robin Senior to join Robin junior in Bat Heaven!"

He walked towards me with the crowbar, and Harley with her bat. There was nothing I could do. This was it. They swung their weapons at me and I closed my eyes… I heard the dying shrieks of my mother and father and then… Everything went black.

*** A vibrating feeling shook me awake, I was huddled uncomfortably in a confined space. At first when I opened my eyes I couldn't see a thing, it was dark wherever I was. I had expected to see the Joker staring down at me but as my eyes adjusted I realised I was at the foot of the staircase leading to my loft. I was pressed up against the back of my secret door.

What was even odder was the fact that my hands weren't tied at all and I hadn't got a scratch on me, aside from the bullet graze on my leg. My cell phone was the vibration I was feeling underneath me; I'd set myself an alarm – which meant it was Sunday morning already.

Cautiously I made my way up the stairs on my hands and knees. I still wasn't sure what had happened to me but I wasn't taking the chance of being caught off guard if this was just another one of the Joker's tricks.

From the look of it, everything that I saw after the Vertigo caught fire was an illusion. _Of course_ , Barbara had told me that Vertigo was a hallucinogen and that the batch had been tampered with. What I had experienced were the effects of this new super-powered Vertigo.

Unfortunately, my Chemical Scanner was ruined and I'd lost my blood sample from Spoiler. The Vertigo situation was also a lot worse than we thought, I couldn't let stuff go into mass production and get out on the street. It was time to swallow my pride and go see Bruce.


	6. Chapter 6

**Face to Face**

Wayne Manor hadn't changed one bit, I'm not sure why I'd expected it to as I hadn't been gone all that long. I suppose the nature of my departure had just made it feel like a long time. Bruce and I had fallen out over my lack of independence, I had become frustrated about living in his shadow and wanted to blaze my own trail. He began training Jason just before I left. Jason's death just amplified the rift between us.

We hadn't said a word to one another in months. Alfred had tried his best to get us to talk to each other but the timing just wasn't right. I spent a lot of time being angry, about Bruce holding me back, about losing Barbara, and about losing Jason. But I had to put that aside because I needed Bruce's help, and I wasn't about to risk the people of Gotham by working on this alone.

I walked my motorcycle up the driveway as I had a thousand times before, it was all flooding back to me now, the memories of my childhood, the memories of being Robin.

The front door of the Manor was menacingly huge, the same as it had been when Bruce first brought me there after my parents were murdered. I hesitated for a second before ringing the doorbell, the thought of seeing Bruce again became more daunting with every step I made. The door eventually creaked open "Young Master Grayson!" Alfred said, excitedly.

"Hey Alfred" I replied with a smile, it was good to see the old butler face to face again. We'd been talking via email and on the phone frequently but it wasn't the same.

"It's great to see you Master Grayson" We shook hands and Alfred led me into the entrance hall. Seeing all of the Wayne family paintings and the old artefacts that Bruce and his father had collected over the years. At the top of the stairs was the painting of Thomas and Martha Wayne, and to the right there was a new painting – one I had no idea was ever finished. Bruce sat centre-stage with Ace the dog at his feet, me stood to the left and Jason to the right. It hit me like a Joker-sized mallet to the gut, I should never have waited this long to come back.

"Master Bruce" Alfred called "We have company"

A shadow crawled across the wall at the top of the staircase, _the moment of truth_. Bruce slowly walked down the stairs, his face as stern as ever. It seemed as though he'd gotten even more muscular, his barrel chest had never looked more intimidating. We were face to face, weighing each other up, I wasn't sure whether he was going to speak to me or hit me.

After nearly a minute of silence, he finally said "Hi"

"Uhm, hey" I replied, _that was easy_.

"How can I help you, Dick?"

"Vertigo is in Gotham"

"I know"

"This stuff is different though, it's been tampered with"

"I know" he repeated.

"Yeah, I get it – you know because Barb told you. But there was an accident with my equipment and I was hit with a dose myself"

"We best get you to the cave and make sure it's out of your system" We started walking toward the study where the entrance to the cave was.

"Yeah that's kind of why I'm here – but we need to talk about what it did to me"

"It made you hallucinate"

"It wasn't just that; I saw Jason"

Bruce stopped walking "What?"

"I saw him being murdered and I couldn't stop it…" He could tell I wasn't lying'; I could see it in his eyes.

"It sounds like the compound amplified your fears"

"Amplified is not the word"

"Whatever the word is, it's serious"

*** We'd been in the Batcave for about an hour before Barbara arrived with Leslie Thompkins. Leslie was close friends with Bruce's parents, she served as a godparent for Bruce when he was growing up, she'd been our personal doctor for as long as I could remember. She openly disapproved of our vigilantism, she thought that she'd failed Bruce as a role model when he was growing up, and felt responsible for Bruce becoming Batman. Disapproving or not, I trusted her with my life.

Leslie greeted Bruce and kissed him on the cheek before she approached me sat in my chair. "Well, Dick what have you gotten into this time?" She asked with a sympathetic smile.

"What can I say, I finally succumbed to all the peer pressure and tried one of the 'cool kid' drugs" I joked.

"From what I hear it was a pretty strong hallucinogenic compound"

"You could say that, yeah"

"I'm going to take a blood sample and do a few tests, but it does look like the worst is over"

"Thanks Leslie"

Leslie jabbed my arm with a needle and took a small vial of blood over to the Batcave lab where Barbara was setting up the equipment. Leaving Bruce and I alone.

"So… I like what you've done with the place" That was my ice breaker. Bruce gave me a sly look, as if he appreciated the joke but didn't want to admit it.

"I heard about your encounter with Freeze" He finally said.

"Yeah?" I replied, curious as to whether he was taking a genuine interest in my career or just making small talk.

"Yeah, I'm impressed you managed to take him down so easily"

"Was that a… Compliment? My god, what next, a hug?"

"Don't push it"

"New girlfriend turned you all soft? I did hear you were dating a Kardashian"

"That was just a vicious rumour"

"I'll bet"

Barbara walked back over to where Bruce and I were talking "Nice to see you boys getting along, Alfred wants to know if you're staying for dinner"

I looked at Bruce and he looked at me… He nodded in approval.

"Sure Barb, sounds good!" I responded.

"Well that's settled then, he's making your favourite anyway" She smiled.

"Alfred is making pizza?" I quizzed.

"Alright, your second favourite"

*** "Are you quite sure you won't stay the night, Master Grayson?"

"I'm sure Alfred, it was good seeing you again"

"And you, Master Grayson – be careful out there won't you"

I smiled and waved up to Bruce and Barbara in the window. Leslie had given me the all clear, so it was back to the grindstone. Only this time it was catching up with college work, not chasing down bad guys. Pushing my motorcycle back to the main gate I felt like I'd repaired an old wound, it felt good.


	7. Chapter 7

**Bottoms Up**

Bruce had put me under strict orders to take a week off, so it was time to focus on school. Barbara promised to completely renovate my loft if I could stay away from my costume for an entire week, which seemed like a pretty fair deal to me.

As it happened I had no classes on the Monday of that week and, as I had nothing better to do, I was going to do some cleaning and catch up on some more sleep.

The latter part seemed like the better idea, so when my alarm clock began to buzz at 7am on the Monday I decided to snooze it for a few hours.

A thud at my door abruptly woke me from my well-earned slumber. _What the hell could it be this time_. The knocking was continuous "Alright, I'm coming".

Behind the door, yet again, was Melissa Daggett.

"You should really get checked for Narcolepsy you know, it's a pretty serious problem" she said in her most patronising tone.

"I thought you were going to call?"

"I did… Thirteen times" She walked past me again and dropped her bags as she had on her previous visit.

"Why does nobody ever wait to be invited in" I said to myself.

"Well I'll say this for you, it's not _quite_ as messy as last time – although you still need to work on the 'putting pants on before answering doors' thing"

"In my defence, you wouldn't stop knocking" I closed the door and strolled over to the sofa, my cell phone was on the coffee table, she wasn't lying '13 missed calls' was right there on the screen.

"I figured since we didn't have class today, it was the perfect time to study"

"Trust you to put a downer on a perfectly good day off"

"Oh I'm sorry that _some of us_ don't want to spend all of our days and nights tucked up in bed"

"Apology accepted, now can we get on with this so I can go back to sleep?"

"You're unbelievable"

"I know" I smirked.

*** "…So our conclusion is that Batman is a force for good, but needs to be regulated by the proper authorities" Melissa insisted.

"You mean _your_ conclusion" I replied, without thinking.

"What so you think it's OK that he goes around breaking bones and terrorizing criminals?" She asked, sharply.

"Well yeah, assuming they're bad people – you can't deny that he gets results"

"And what happens when he gets it wrong?"

"He doesn't"

"And how do _you_ know that?" she scowled.

"I uhm, I guess I don't"

"Exactly"

I rolled my eyes at her "does this mean it's over? Is the nightmare finally over?"

"Very funny, you know your charm will only get you so far in life Grayson, you shouldn't see studying as such an ordeal"

"You're starting to sound like a motivational speaker, nice to know you think I'm charming though"

She smiled and threw a screwed up ball of paper at me "Shut up, you know it wasn't that bad"

"You're alright I guess… Does this mean you might talk to me in class tomorrow?"

"Maybe, but I wouldn't want to interrupt one of your classroom naps"

"Oh ha ha, come on I'll walk you to your car"

"Wow, it's like you're a whole new man"

*** Monday night was an odd night for a party, but at one of the fraternities it was a perfect time for a birthday celebration, so naturally half of the student body was down there – including myself, which was quite a novelty to Emily.

"So this is a party, it's where people drink and socialise" Emily explained sarcastically.

"You're hilarious Em, truly" I replied.

"Cheer up dude, Nate said he'd meet us here"

We walked into the bustling frat house, it really wasn't my scene but _when in Rome._ Nate was in the kitchen congratulating the birthday boy. "Hey Dick!" He called to me "This is my old buddy Todd – come say hi"

"Hey Todd, Dick Grayson – good to meet you" I said politely.

"Good to meet ya bro, aren't you Bruce Wayne's kid?" Todd asked, somewhat intrusively.

"Yeah that's right" I replied "Well sort of"

"Cool man, well here" He handed me a beer "Enjoy the party"

Emily hugged Nathan and grabbed herself a beer. "Hey dude, you feeling better?" She asked him.

"Yeah I'm good now Em" Nate replied.

"What happened, everything OK with work?" I asked him, I hadn't been allowed near my police radio.

"I saw my first body today; it shook me up a little Bro" Nate answered with an unfamiliar quiver in his voice.

"Damn, was it bad?" I immediately responded.

"Dude, what kind of question is that?!" Emily snapped.

"Sorry I was just curious that's all"

"Morbid curiosity if you ask me man"

"No it's fine, it was pretty messed up. The guy had been drugged – he was all seized up with this look on his face like he'd been scared to death" Nate replied.

"Good god, that sucks, any leads?" I said, hoping that he'd tell me Batman was on the case.

"Not one, he was just some lowly biker guy – from the _Brothers of Satan_ I think"

 _Oh shit_ , it had to be Clancy, I had to tell Bruce right away.

"Where's the bathroom in this place?" I asked abruptly.

"Not sure man, think it's on the first floor"

"Don't go anywhere I'll be right back"

I ran into the main entranceway of the house and up the stairs. The bathroom was occupied so I locked myself in the nearest empty bedroom and dialled Bruce's emergency number.

"Nightwing, what is it? You're supposed to be resting" He answered.

"I know, I just wanted to make sure you had all the info you needed – I interrogated a biker the other night named Clancy Wolfman…" I explained.

"The same one the GCPD found dead this morning?"

"The very same, he was working for the guys that are bringing in the Vertigo from Star City – They must have seen me take him"

"Alright, thanks for the lead – I'll be in touch"

"Wait, there's one more thing. Keep an eye out for a girl dressed in purple, calls herself Spoiler, I bumped into her that night and I'd hate for her to get caught up in this"

"Will do" The line immediately went dead after that.

I made my way back to the kitchen through all of the birthday commotion. "That was quick" Emily said, a suspicious look in her eye "How was your day off anyway?"

"Wasn't much of a day off, Melissa turned up to finish our paper" I replied.

"Brutal dude, at least it's over now"

"Yeah – could be worse, I could have your partner" I smiled as we both looked over to the upside down football player doing a keg-stand "He looks like a real scholar".


	8. Chapter 8

**Another Brick in the Wall**

I arrived at class early the next morning, having had a pretty good rest the night before. It was an interesting role reversal as most of the class had attended Todd's party the night before and either hadn't turned up or were sleeping in their chairs.

Melissa Daggett was not among the sleepy populous, she turned up looking prim and proper as she usually did, this time taking a seat next to me. "Did you pass your sleeping disease on to everyone else?" She asked.

"Hello to you too" I laughed "There was a party last night, how come you weren't there"

"Frat parties aren't really my thing, I dated a lot of those types in High School"

"A lot?"

"Well not a lot, but you know what I mean"

"What you do instead? Stay in and read?"

She scowled at me "I went to a charity fundraiser with my father if you _must_ know, I thought I might have seen you there actually"

"Why's that?"

"Bruce Wayne was there, for the first part anyway, I just assumed you'd be tagging along. I was pretty disappointed actually"

"Oh so you wanted me to be there?" A smug look took over my face.

"Not exactly, it would have just been nice to talk to someone who wasn't a stuffy billionaire or a boring charity worker"

"So there are people that actually rank lower than me on your social scale?!"

"I know! Can you believe it?" We both laughed, I could see Emily at the other side of the room watching us curiously.

Crane barged into the classroom uncharacteristically late and the room fell silent. "Good morning class, sorry I'm a little late – it was sadly… unavoidable" He looked directly at Melissa as he said it, which seemed odd. "So did anyone not manage to finish their team essays over the weekend?" Immediately there were five pairs of hands in the air, including Emily and her partner. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Something funny, Mr Grayson?" Crane asked, peering at me through his spectacles as he often did with a look of disgust.

"No, Sir" I responded, _I wonder what his problem is today…_

"You may all submit your papers at the end of class, those who were unable to complete the task must stay behind"

"And that concludes today's lesson – those of you who are staying behind please come to the head of the class. Everyone else, you may go"

"He seemed seriously moody today, more so than usual" Melissa said as we walked out of the classroom together.

"I know, must have been a rough weekend at the Crane household" I joked.

"I heard he works his weekends at Arkham Asylum, treating some of the patients" She explained, I wondered why I'd never heard that before. It did make a lot of sense though and it was the perfect place to study the criminal mind.

"Wow, no wonder he's so much fun" I said, Melissa laughed and nodded in agreement.

"What are you doing now anyway?" she asked.

"I'm gonna wait around for my friend Emily, she's still in there getting grilled by the professor. Why do you ask?"

"Oh... no reason, I'll see you tomorrow then"

"OK, see you in class"

Melissa smiled and walked away down the corridor. It seemed like she was a little annoyed about something that I said, but I couldn't figure out what.

I was sat for about fifteen minutes before Crane finally released his prisoners. Emily walked out in a fury with her other lazy classmates, her face was distorted with an expression of intense frustration. I'd seen her like that before, it was how she looked when I was late or when I came up with some lame excuse for not turning up to something. "That guy is a total ass-head" She growled.

"Yeah I noticed, he seemed on edge today – what'd he say?" I asked, trying not to look smug about not being kept behind.

"Just told us all how we were disappointments and stuff, usual Crane BS. It's not my fault I got paired up with a total Neanderthal who doesn't know his ass from his elbow"

"Woah, you wanna come over and play a little Xbox and calm yourself down?"

"Hell yes, then I have to go over to Tyreese's dorm and work on this stupid paper with him"

"I can take you over if you want"

"Gee thanks, I'd love a ride on the _death bike_ " Her eyes burned a hole in my skull "no thanks, I'd rather walk"

"Woah, should I just not speak?" She could be very scary; I wouldn't mind having her with me on patrol sometimes – she'd have made light work of Mr Freeze with her death stare.

"Oh don't be such a baby, let's go back to yours so I can kick your ass on Call of Duty"

"Yes, mam"

The rest of the week passed slowly. I spent most of it in my apartment with either Emily or Nate, playing Xbox, watching movies and eating pizza. I was going to be in _great_ shape when I got back on patrol. All I had was one class on the following Monday and then I had Bruce's permission to get back in the game.

If I wasn't in my apartment; I'd be at class with good old Professor Crane. The cranky asshole had actually been going easy on me because I'd been early to every lecture that week, it felt unnatural having a full week's worth of sleep. Crane wasn't the only one to notice my change in behaviour, Melissa had given me at least two compliments on my punctuality – which for her, was pretty serious.

I arrived to an empty classroom that morning, the seats were vacant and I noticed that none of Crane's files were on his desk. The professor was usually here by now prepping his lesson, I'd only known him to be late on two occasions before this one. Melissa was next to enter the class "Well look at you, here on time again" She smiled "Those narcolepsy drugs must be working a treat"

"You seem almost… cheerful today, good weekend?" I asked, with an uncommonly genuine curiosity.

"I just like Monday mornings, what can I say"

"You _like_ Mondays?"

"Yeah what's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong with that? You are such a dork" I laughed.

"Hey!" She snarled "That was mean"

The class began to fill up quickly but Crane still hadn't arrived. "Where is he?" Melissa asked me.

"I really don't know, maybe we should go ask someone" I responded, as I did the classroom door opened and a professor I didn't recognise walked down the steps to Crane's desk. She was tall with short black hair and a lab coat.

"Good morning class, I'm afraid the professor will not be attending class today – he was hospitalised over the weekend and won't be back for another few days" The lady professor told us.

"Wait so we can go?" I heard Tyreese call from the back of the class.

"That's correct" she smiled. The class instantly rose to their feet and scrambled for the door. Emily was among the crazed mass of students spilling out of the small double-door entrance.

Melissa and I were among the four students that has stayed in their seats and waited for everyone to disperse. "Hey could I ask a favour?" Melissa asked, nervously.

"Ask away" I replied.

"Could I hang out at your place for a while?" _That was unexpected._

"Uhm, sure…" I responded with confusion "Why?"

"I live in the city and my dad is supposed be picking me up after class, he won't be able to get me for another hour at least"

"Look if you wanna hang out with me you don't have to come up with such lame excuses"

"Oh shut up"

"Come on then, _Miss Daggett_ , let's get a move on"

We exited the main Psychology building of the campus and made our way to the student apartment complex where I lived.

"So how come you still live in the city?" I asked her as we walked.

"My dad doesn't trust me living away from home"

"Sounds like he's a little overprotective"

"More than a little, he's seriously paranoid – he thinks everyone is out to get him"

"I take it he's a pretty big deal?"

"Wait… You don't know who he is?"

"Should I?"

"Roland Daggett, of Daggett Industries?"

"So you mean _I'm_ talking to the heiress to the Daggett cosmetics and pharmaceutical fortune? Should I bow?"

"Oh you're _so_ funny" She lightly punched my arm "I can't believe you didn't know that"

"Sorry, should I have googled you when we met?" I laughed.

"No… That would be weird…" She had an odd look on her face.

"Oh my god, you googled me didn't you" I was laughing hysterically.

"Be quiet! I just wanted to know if it was true about you being Bruce Wayne's kid"

"You could have just asked"

"Well I just assumed Dick Grayson would be some kind of rich party boy, staying in the mansion and all that - not some sleep-deprived student who lived on campus"

"How do you know I'm not a party boy? I could be the biggest party boy around for all you know"

"Maybe you are, but you don't really strike me as the Oliver Queen type"

"Maybe I'll come to your dad's next cocktail party, raise the profile a little"

She laughed "I'm sure my dad would appreciate the social boost"

We had arrived at the door to my apartment building, we walked into the lobby and made our way up the stairs. My apartment was at the very end of the corridor on the top floor. I unlocked the door and let Melissa in, she made herself comfortable as she had on her previous visits and sat on the sofa. She immediately turned on the TV as I headed to the kitchen to grab a drink.

"Can I get you a drink?" I asked.

"Sure, what are you having?"

"Water"

"Ooo, party boy, I'll have water too then please"

I brought over the drinks and put them on the coffee table, parking myself in the armchair. Melissa stared at me as if I'd just done something very odd. "Why are you sitting over there?" She asked.

"It's my chair?"

"Come sit with me, idiot" She smiled "I'm not diseased"

I wasn't going to question her, I shifted on to the sofa next to her. She smiled at me and took a sip of her water. She took off her glasses and put them down on the coffee table, her eyes were crystal blue, I'd never noticed before. She untied her hair and shook her head, it was starting to look like a music video or a shampoo commercial. Finally, she removed her jacket and slumped back into a more comfortable position. All of a sudden I was feeling very conscious about how I looked.

"You don't mind watching this do you?" She asked. It was Real Housewives of Coast City, one of my least favourite shows on TV – and that was saying a lot as I didn't watch that much TV.

"No, not at all" I lied.

We sat and watched the awful reality show until the first commercial break. "You are literally hating every minute of this aren't you" She laughed.

"Not _every_ minute, I'm enjoying the commercials" I said, sarcastically.

"You should have said, I'll turn it over"

"Oh come on, I love watching rich housewives complain about their lives in their gold-plated mansions" I joked.

"Hey, you grew up in a gold-plated mansion"

"So did you!"

"Not true, I grew up in gold-plated _penthouse_ " I couldn't help but laugh.

" _Touché_ "

"Do you ever think it would've been nice to grow up in a more _normal_ environment?"

"You seem pretty normal to me"

"Pretty normal? Gee thanks" She scowled.

"You know what I mean, but yeah – I get it"

"I'd say you turned out pretty normal too, considering the circumstances…" She was obviously referring to my parents.

"Wow, you really did google me didn't you" I said, it seemed to come out wrong, like I was offended.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that… I wasn't thinking"

"No it's fine, honestly – it's public information I guess" I smiled at her, she smiled back sympathetically and put her hand on mine. I felt a sudden surge of unexpected electricity.

"I think maybe I'd better go…" She suggested, her eyes were fixed on mine, our faces were only inches from each other. I was overwhelmed with an unexpected tension. My arm moved around her waist and pulled her closer, her lips grazed against mine – she gasped.

There was a momentary pause which felt like a lifetime. And then finally, she kissed me.

She pulled me into her and we continued our passionate embrace, her hands running through my hair as I explored her curves with mine. I could have lived in that moment forever.

Had it not been for a loud knock at my door.

We both leapt to attention "It's my dad" she said quietly, rearranging her hair and tying it back up. I handed her the glasses and jacket she had dropped on the table.

"Well this was… Yeah… Uhm… I guess I'll see you in class" She said awkwardly, checking her makeup in the reflection of her cell phone.

"Yeah, next class is on Wednesday at 9am right?" _What a weird thing to say_. She looked at me like I was crazy.

Awkwardly, she responded "That's right, see you then" She rushed to the door and opened it "Hey dad" she closed it behind her almost immediately. I could hear the muffled sounds of her father quizzing her through the door.

I could safely say that class was going to be pretty awkward on Wednesday morning.


	9. Chapter 9

**Nobody Does It Better**

The view from the roof of Wayne Enterprises HQ was spectacular, it was one of the tallest buildings in Gotham with an almost unparalleled angle on the Gotham Bay. I'd been up there many times before, it just so happened that Bruce had picked it as out meeting point.

"Nightwing" Batman appeared behind me as if from nowhere.

"How do you do that?!" I sharply responded, he had a habit of appearing and disappearing without a sound.

"Did Barbara fill you in?" He asked.

"No, this is the first Bat-related contact I've had all week"

"The Vertigo case has escalated"

"How so?"

"The toxicology report came back from Clancy Wolfman's body"

"So it really _was_ him, huh?"

"Yes"

"And?"

"He had an even more concentrated dose of Vertigo in his system than the one that you were exposed to"

"And it killed him?"

"Yes, it seems as though he literally died of fright"

After what I'd seen, it didn't surprise me that it could kill somebody.

"There's more" Batman continued, handing me his batphone "Watch this"

I flicked the screen and security footage began to play. The setting was the alleyway where Clancy's body had been found, he was leaned against his bike playing around with his cellphone – it looked like he was waiting for someone.

As I suspected, a shadow appeared on the wall on the alley, it had the shape of a van. A man marched toward Clancy and began a heated exchange. The man was hooded and cloaked in brown, his clothes looked like they'd been pulled out of a trash can. With there being no sound we couldn't hear what the argument was about. It culminated in Clancy pushing the other man backwards, making his front visible.

"What the hell?" I quizzed, the man was wearing a cloth sack over his face with stitched eyes and a mouth – he looked like a Scarecrow.

The Scarecrow raised his arm and something sprayed out from his wrist and into Clancy's face. The biker helplessly flailed his arms around, mouth wide open as if he was screaming. The Scarecrow casually walked away, leaving Clancy writhing on the floor with bulging eyes and an open mouth until he eventually stopped moving.

"That was…" I began, but I couldn't think of a word to describe what I'd seen.

"I know"

"So what's out next move?"

"I want you to patrol the docks and keep an eye on the biker territories"

"Sure, what about you?" I said, walking toward the edge of the roof

"I'm going to go back to the alley and see if we missed anything"

"Missed something, I didn't know you could miss-" I turned back, he was gone "typical"

I stood on the precipice for a moment and breathed in the night air – being up there felt like home, it felt like being back on the high wire with my parents. It reminded me of everything I loved about the circus, the rush of adrenaline from being one wrong move away from death.

Arms outstretched and grapple in hand I let myself fall forward into the open air. I hurtled faster than a bullet toward the ground, allowing myself to fall a quarter of the way down before firing a line on to a nearby building. I swung on the line and fired a second one, simultaneously detaching the first as the second landed on the following building. The line reeled in and pulled me to a few feet from the top of the building, planting my feet on the large windows I ascended as easily as I walked on the ground. _Next stop, Bleake Island Docks._

I spent the rest of the evening hanging around on rooftops near the biker bar. It was seemingly all for nothing, as the bikers were tamer than they'd ever been.

I made my way back to my apartment via the rooftops. My mind wandered as I hopped from roof to roof, my thoughts ping ponged back and forth from Vertigo, to Clancy, to the Scarecrow and to Melissa. I knew I had much bigger fish to fry but I couldn't help but think about how much I regretted the way I left things with her.

I landed on the roof of my apartment and activated the electronic door hidden under the roof tiles which gave me easy access to the loft. As I took off my costume I wondered whether it would be appropriate to give her a call… I looked at her name and number on my cell phone and pondered what I'd say. The right words just weren't coming to me, so I put down the phone and crawled into bed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Man Down**

The following day was spent training in the apartment – weights, treadmill, punch-bag, repeat. A day spent waiting for it to get dark so that I could hit the streets.

When the night finally arrived I was out of the apartment and immediately on to the rooftops.

I found myself atop the Stromwell building again. The night sky was a beautiful shade of deep indigo, the buildings of Gotham looked amazing in the moonlight. I couldn't help but be amazed by the scenery, it was something I generally took for granted when I grappled along the gargoyles and the gothic arches.

Unfortunately, I wasn't up there for a sightseeing tour, and I'd just spotted what I was looking for.

The young purple-clad girl was at it again. Her determination was admirable as she attempted to successfully clear the gap she'd failed to the last time we ran into each other. Starting from a crouched position she sprung into a frantic sprint, not pacing herself, she clearly wasn't any kind of athlete – but she was still fairly fit.

She lost no momentum as she approached the edge of the building, and with all of her energy she leapfrogged forward, easily clearing the ledge. One thing she hadn't counted on was her landing, her foot hit the floor at an angle, twisting her ankle in the process. She hit the dirt, hard.

I emerged from under the ledge where I'd been hiding with a smile on my face. I began a slow clap as I strolled towards my incapacitated new friend. "You know," I began "Rocky always had a song for his training montage – it's clinically proven to increase performance"

Spoiler looked up at me from the ground, her scowl obvious even under the mask "What do _you_ want?"

"I thought I told you not to go anywhere?" I asked, still smiling at her in a smug manner.

"You were gone for hours, like I was just gonna sit around"

"Yeah that turned into one hell of a night"

"Cool" she said, in as cold a tone as she could.

"What are you doing up here?"

"Practicing"

"For what?" I asked "Wait, let me guess – _none of my business_ "

"Bingo"

I stretched out my hand and offered to help her to her feet. Spoiler immediately batted my hand away and jumped to her feet.

"You not gonna run away this time?" I asked, wondering why she hadn't already tried to make another feeble escape attempt.

"Would there be any point?" She replied.

"No, probably not" I said, there was a long pause where we looked each other up and down. She was taller than I remembered, if I had to guess on voice and height alone I'd say we were around the same age – I may have been slightly older. I finally continued "You know… it's not often I get to catch a super-villain in training"

"Villain!?" She spat, folding her arms like an angry infant "What makes you think I'm the bad guy? Did it ever occur to you that I maybe want to fight the bad guys?!"

"Admirable career path, but you should leave it to the pros"

"Oh you're pros are you? HA!" She exclaimed, I imagined a look of disgust on her face.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Our conversation was interrupted by the sound of an alarm; a robbery could have been in progress. "We'll finish this conversation later… do you need a hand getting down" I took her response of a middle finger as a no.

I dropped into the alleyway below and began to move toward the noise, I heard no sirens so the police were not going to get to the incident in time.

I arrived at the grocery store where the alarm was coming from, there was no one in site but the main window was broken and looked to be the only point of entry. Curiously the cash register hadn't been emptied, I had to go in and investigate. Stealthily I crept across the store, activating my night vision so as not to miss anyone lurking in the shadows.

After a quick sweep of the ground floor I found nothing and disconnected the alarm. Immediately I could hear shouting in the apartment above, _this wasn't a robbery_. I made my way up the stairs in the back of the store – I could only assume the owner lived upstairs.

"I'm sorry Davey, I'm sorry!" I heard a voice shouting through the wall.

I slid along the hallway pressed against the wall, making sure I ducked to avoid knocking off the plates that were mounted to the wall.

"Sorry?!" Responded another voice, he must have been Davey "You ruined my life!"

"Davey look, we didn't mean for this to happen!"

" _We_?" He growled " _We_ being you and my wife!"

"Davey, man, just put the gun down and we can talk about this" It was a hostage situation, I had to act fast. I edged toward the door and twisted the handle.

"Look Davey, the cops are here for god's sake!" the shop owner cried.

"I'm not a cop" I called, from my cover beside the door.

"I can still shoot you through this wall!" Davey shouted "So you better come in"

 _He had me there_ , I revealed myself in the doorway. The two men were stood in a kitchen, Davey had the shopkeeper pinned against the refrigerator door.

"Oh shit, you're screwed now Davey boy" The shopkeeper laughed. His glee was short-lived as Davey threateningly forced the revolver up into the shopkeeper's throat and pulled back the hammer.

"You sure it's me who's screwed, huh Pete?" Davey asked, rhetorically. Pete had closed his eyes and screwed his face up in anticipation of the bullet that he thought would inevitably follow.

"Davey" I began "You wanna tell me what happened? Maybe I can help you"

"How you gonna do that?" He replied, not taking his eyes off Pete's terrified face.

"Well for one, I'm not a cop" I explained "So this doesn't have to end with you behind bars, we could come to some kind of arrangement – right Pete?"

"Y-yeah, right" Pete replied.

"Why would I arrange anything with this asshole, he's been banging my wife behind my fricking back!" Davey roared "There are enough bullets in this gun for all three of us anyway, so no jail for me"

"So, you're going to let Pete win?" I said, edging closer with my hands in the air.

"Huh?" Davey turned his head to me for a second "Keep back" I stopped moving. His head turned back to Pete.

"Well, if you kill him and I grab you – you end up in prison" I said, not knowing whether he was even really listening "And if you kill him and manage to kill yourself – your life is _really_ over"

"And what if I kill _you_?" he questioned.

"Then you'd go to jail and the mayor would have to pay out for a very expensive statue in my honour" Surprisingly, the joke cracked Davey's angry facade, just for a second.

"What's your point anyway?"

"My point is, are you really going to let this asshole take _everything_ from you?"

Pete looked at me, now more scared than ever – he didn't seem to notice that Davey was now entirely focused on me.

"She was everything to me, she still is" Davey said, his voice quieter and calmer than before.

"It may seem like that now but you're not that old, man. There's time for you to move on – you've built this woman up and put her on this pedestal, but maybe she's not everything you thought?"

He pulled the gun away from Pete and pointed it at me "What the hell do you know about her?!"

"Not a thing, Davey, not a thing. But I know that there has to be someone out there that will love you as fiercely as you love this woman, someone who won't cheat on you with your best friend"

"Oh god, it's too late man, I've already gone too far!" Davey shouted, flailing the gun around. I could have taken him out right there, but I believed I could talk him round.

"No you haven't, put the gun down and we can walk out of here together"

Davey winced and steadied his hand, pointing the gun directly at my head. I had always been good at reading faces in this type of situation, but for a split second I really wasn't sure what his next move was going to be.

He squeezed his eyes shut and his hand began to shake.

My instincts about Davey proved to be correct – he lowered the gun and proceeded to put it down on the kitchen counter. The broken man burst into a flood of tears while Pete breathed a sigh of relief on the floor. Davey stumbled forward and grabbed me, clutching my arms as if he couldn't carry his own weight "I just wanna go home, man" he cried.

"Then let's go" I smiled, pulling him up to stand without my support.

He smiled weakly and sniffed "Yeah, let's go" he agreed.

Before we could start toward the door we were interrupted "You think you can come here and make a fool out of me!" Pete was stood, holding the gun and pointing it at Davey's chest "I'll just say it was self-defence"

I could see the conviction in Pete's eyes, he had every intention of killing Davey.

There was a loud bang.

Time seemed to slow down as I spun myself into the trajectory of the bullet leaving the chamber – Davey and I were face to face as I felt it hit me in the right side of my back. Letting out a wince of pain I threw myself forward to knock Davey on the floor and keep him covered.

Before I had time to think of my next move I heard an enormous crash.

I looked up to see Spoiler in the doorway, Pete was in a bloody heap on the floor – shards of broken plate surrounding his unconscious body.

I rolled off of Davey and on to my back, Spoiler rushing to my side. "Did he just shoot you?" she asked.

"A little" I replied, breathless.

"You gonna be alright?" she asked with a somewhat genuine concern in her voice.

"Yeah, it's only a surface wound – the armour stopped it going all the way, you alright Davey?"

Davey sat up and looked over at me "You just took a bullet for me, man" He responded.

"Don't mention it" I smiled "Although I wouldn't mind if you guys helped me up, it did knock the wind out of me slightly"

The two of them helped me to my feet while I caught my breath.

"That was a pretty good throw by the way" I complimented.

"I know" Spoiler replied, arrogantly.

"You could still use a little training"

"Is that an offer?" She said, her voice perkier than it had been.

"Maybe"


	11. Chapter 11

**Already Yesterday**

Being shot was the ultimate excuse to skip class. I was going to do nothing but lay on the sofa all day watching crappy daytime TV and eating junk food.

Davey and Spoiler had helped me get out of the building before the cops arrived, what I'd done seemed to have sparked a change in both of them.

Davey's dance with death seemed to have given him a new drive to do something positive. I let him go but there was no doubt the police were going to catch up with him, but he said he was ready to face up to what he'd done – I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd turned himself in that very night.

Spoiler appeared to have a newfound respect for me, she could see the lengths I'd go to in order to protect people. Unfortunately for me she ended the night even more determined and inspired to carry on with her 'training'. I was going to have to keep an eye on her.

My cell phone rang late that morning – it was Barbara.

"Hey Barb" I greeted.

"Hey Dick, I'm outside with a moving van – care to help with some boxes?"

"Didn't I tell you I got shot last night?"

"You've got a bruised rib stop feeling sorry for yourself and get down here"

"Well since I don't have a choice…"

I walked downstairs to the front entrance of the Apartment Complex, sure enough Barbara was stood at the back of a large moving van full of wooden crates.

"Did I miss the memo? Are we moving in together?" I joked, probably not the best thing to say to an ex.

"Hilarious" She scowled "It's the _furniture_ you wanted me to bring over" Her eyes pointed to a group of civilians loitering on the sidewalk.

"Ohhh the _furniture_ , let me help you with that"

I had to take five once we'd gotten all of the crates into the apartment. Barbara was stood in the kitchen with a clipboard, checking things off a list.

"Alright that's everything" She stated "I'll start setting up your new equipment once you've brought the old stuff down"

"No rest for the wicked huh?"

Barbara and I spent the afternoon and most of the early evening putting together my new equipment – the loft was nearly unrecognisable by the time we'd finished. It was now brimming with top of the range equipment which she assured me wasn't going to blow up in my face.

She also promised me she would be back with a few extra gadgets and was going to find a way to store my Wingcycle nearby so that I didn't have to do everything on foot.

My new computer had a direct link to the main bat-computer in the cave, which meant I had access to Bruce's entire database of information. I felt as though I'd been given a long-overdue promotion.

My alarm clock did nothing for me the next day, I awoke naturally about half an hour after the start of my first class of the day. With it being one of Crane's lectures I couldn't imagine him being particularly forgiving.

After hurriedly getting dressed I sprinted down the stairs of the Apartment Building and made my way across the campus as fast as I could.

I arrived at the classroom and burst through the door – the doors clattered into the walls, alerting the entire class to my presence. Every head in the room was turned towards me. I walked to my seat next to Melissa with the entire room watching me.

"Nice of you to prise yourself from your pillow Mr Grayson – Last week's punctuality must have been a fluke I assume?" Crane said, glaring at me with his judgmental death-stare.

"Sorry sir" I responded, making an excuse just didn't seem worth the effort.

"That you are, Mr Grayson" He jabbed "Anyway, as I was saying…"

Crane continued with his lecture on whatever he was talking about, I quietly unpacked my bag and began to take notes. After a few minutes Melissa turned and looked at me with an expression of total disgust.

" _What?_ " I whispered.

" _Nothing_ " she replied sharply under her breath.

" _OK then_ " probably the worst thing I could have said.

" _You didn't have to skip class yesterday just to avoid me you know, if you don't like me that's fine but you don't have to be such an ass about it_ "

" _I wasn't avoiding you_?"

" _Oh yeah? Well you didn't call or send me any messages, we just kissed and that was that – no contact for days_ "

" _It was you that ran off, I didn't know you wanted me to call_ "

" _Ran off? My dad arrived, what did you want me to do? Invite him in and talk about how we were just making out?_ "

"Is there something you too want to share with the class?" Crane interrupted.

"No sir" I said, blushing slightly.

"Grayson was just trying to catch up on some notes, sir" Melissa told him.

"Well _Grayson_ can catch up on notes in his own time, right now you should both be listening and staying silent!" Crane responded aggressively, I was starting to get the feeling he really didn't like anybody – so why he chose to teach was a complete mystery to me.

"Sorry sir" Melissa whimpered in embarrassment " _asshole_ " she whispered under her breath, I wasn't sure if she meant Crane or me.

Emily signalled me from across the room with her eyes, her signal was followed by a vibrating in my pocket. I pulled out my cell phone and tried to hide it from Crane's view, Emily's message read: _When did you two get so pally?_

I replied: _I was just getting some notes._

She looked over at me pulling her usual face of disbelief, the one she gave when I made excuses for flaking on her. She followed the look with another message: _You suck at lying LOL see you at your place tonight._

" _Is that why you were avoiding me?_ " Melissa whispered, she'd been reading my messages.

" _What?_ " I replied, not knowing what she meant.

" _You have a girlfriend_ " She whispered as if it were a solid fact.

" _What? No I don't, Emily is just a friend_ "

" _Sure, whatever, I don't even care_ "

" _Clearly_ "

Crane slammed his fist on his desk "Last warning Mr Grayson, hold your tongue or you'll be spending the night in this classroom catching up on everything you've missed"

I caught Melissa smiling out of the corner of my eye, she was enjoying Crane's abuse now that it was only aimed at me. I wasn't going to risk talking now, but mine and Melissa's conversation was far from over.

As class rounded up I began to pack up my things, Melissa was rushing to pack so that she could leave before me "Can we talk?" I asked her hopefully.

She didn't answer and gave me a scowl, which to me indicated that the answer was no. Melissa barged past me and headed for the classroom door.

"Mr Grayson, a word please" Crane called out as I started toward the door.

I hesitantly walked to the head of the class where Crane was leaning over papers on his desk. His head shot up and he glared into my eyes "You missed yesterday's lecture" He stated, turning around to face away from me "You need to catch up"

"Yes sir" I said, not really knowing how else to respond.

"Here" He handed me a large book "You missed the subjects covered in chapters ten and eleven, I expect you to be an expert on them by next week"

"No problem, sir" I took the book and headed for the door.

Emily was sat waiting for me on a table outside of the classroom, she hopped to her feet and strolled over "Hey bestie, wanna tell me what that was all about?" She asked immediately, obviously referring to my heated conversation with Melissa.

"Nothing, I needed some notes" I laughed, she knew I was lying.

"You know we're spending the evening together, right?"

"Right?"

"So I _will_ get the truth from you eventually"

I laughed uncomfortably and we made our way to the building exit. Emily was definitely going to get the truth out of me eventually, I kind of wanted to talk to her about it anyway.

As we approached the door there was a lot of noise coming from the courtyard outside. A small crowd was forming outside, cheering in a circle – a lot like when there was a fight in the schoolyard.

Moving closer it was starting to look like it may have been exactly that, two girls were shouting at each other in the centre of the circle.

"Look, Tanya I know you took the goddamn phone so just give it back" One girl shouted, she had long sandy blond hair which and a very distinctive nose ring on her left nostril. She wore a baggy white tee and some high waisted jeans.

The girl she was facing off against, Tanya, was much taller with short black hair, she wore a plaid shirt and baggy jeans – she didn't look like someone to be messed with.

A girl from the crowd approached the blonde girl "Steph just leave it OK, it's fine I can just get another one"

"What? No, this bitch stole your phone from your bag – she needs to give it back" Steph replied.

"Did you just call me a bitch?" Tanya snorted "I'll mess up your pretty little face if you don't walk away right now, I didn't take nothing"

"You'll mess up my face?" Steph laughed "How's about when I knock you on your ass, take my friend's cell phone back and we call it a day?"

The bigger girl lunged forward at Steph, her fists raised. The blond dashed to one side and stuck out her leg to trip up the other girl, whose face collided with the grass. Tanya pulled herself to her feet and spun to attack Steph again, Steph's immediate response was to land a punch right on Tanya's nose – causing it to break on impact.

The crowd gasped in a loud chorus. Emily was now among them, I moved into the centre and stood between the two women. "Don't you guys think that's enough now?" I asked them, the crowd booing me as I did, it was meant to be a rhetorical question but Steph answered.

"It's enough when she admits what she did" The girl snarled.

"I didn't do nothing!" Tanya responded, holding her bleeding nose in both hands.

Steph began riffling through what must have been Tanya's rucksack "Get outta my bag, bitch!" Tanya shouted, stomping towards Steph.

I put my hand out to stop the girl moving any closer "If you didn't do anything then you've got no need to worry" I rationally stated.

Sure enough, Steph raised her hand in the air clutching a pink iPhone. "Is this yours?" She asked her friend in the crowd. Her friend shyly nodded in spite of the fact that Tanya was glaring at her, signalling her to say no. The crowd roared and began to clap for Steph as Tanya grabbed her rucksack and ran off.

Steph smugly smiled and picked up her own bag, making her way out of the crowd with her friend in tow. The crowd dispersed quickly once there was nothing more to see, Emily and I walked off in a separate direction to the two warring girls.

"That girl was awesome," Emily said "put her on a poster for the college feminist society and I bet they'd have way more applicants"

I laughed, she had a point "You know her?"

"No, I think she's a freshman, not your _average_ freshman though" she chuckled.

"Definitely not"

"Maybe she's _Batgirl_?" Emily joked.

"That would explain a lot" I laughed again, Emily looked as if she was pondering the thought for a second that maybe Steph was Batgirl – but eventually shook her head.

"You ever wonder if anyone on Campus could be a vigilante though?" She asked.

"Maybe" I replied, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible "If all the other professors are like Crane I very much doubt it"

"What do you mean?"

"Well with the amount of studying he makes us do how would anyone have time to do any crime-fighting?"

She laughed "That's true, if anything I think Crane is probably a super villain!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Sharp Dressed Man**

When I had originally cut ties with Batman and decided to go solo, I still had regular access to the Batcave – it was only after the death of Jason and the end of my relationship with Barbara that things really became strained between us. It wasn't that Bruce ever told me I couldn't come back, that's just how it felt… Like I'd failed as Robin and that's why Jason had to take on the role in the first place, and eventually ended up dead.

In that year I had made all my own repairs to the Nightwing suit, and since the shooting incident it was looking a little worse for wear. The suit itself was made from special materials that were made to withstand various levels of wear and tear – but the more holes I made and stitched up, the more vulnerable I was.

It felt like Christmas when I returned from class that Friday afternoon and went up to my loft. I'd had another day of being flat out ignored by Melissa, who'd seen me leave the previous class with Emily – fuelling her theory that I was some kind of sleaze-bag who had cheated on Emily with her. So naturally I wasn't in a good mood.

Walking through the apartment door I headed straight for the bookcase and scanned my thumb along the spine of Catcher in the Rye. The bookcase clunked, my new security system, the secret door swung forward and revealed the staircase to the loft.

There was now another sliding metal door at the top of the stairs, which only opened once the bookcase door had shut behind me. The secondary door hissed open, behind it was my flashy new equipment – complete with a top of the range mini forensic lab, medical station, equipment storage, and high-tech batcomputer. To my surprise there were now three glass chambers at the far end of the loft, the glass was blacked out so I couldn't see what was in them.

As I approached I noticed a yellow post-it note on the glass: _looked like you needed a new one, love Barb x._

I flicked the switch on the metal panel which sat in the centre of the glass cylinders – lights came on to reveal three Nightwing suits.

The centre costume was almost identical to my original with a blue wing across the chest that reached right down the arms, it was a one-piece made up of a sturdy but flexible material that was tailored to my strengths in speed and acrobatics. It was durable enough to take certain damage from bullets and knives, the blue wing across the chest was heavily armoured, as were the shoulder pads and gauntlets. It was paired up with an improved version of my Domino Mask.

The suit to the left was a completely armoured suit that sported a large red Bat Symbol, it was very similar to the suit that Bruce currently used, but without the cape and cowl – it contained a hood made of fireproof material. This suit was obviously for more 'heavy duty' missions. This suit was paired with a Domino Mask which could be hooked up to a respirator.

The third suit was my original Nightwing suit in all its glory, Barbara had installed a plaque above it which said 'The Original – do not use'.

*** The new suit felt amazing as I fell through the air at a hundred miles per hour, grappling at the last possible second into a super-fast swing. I wasn't even looking for any crime in particular to stop and we had no new leads in the Vertigo case - to be honest, I just wanted to be out on the rooftops again.

While I hadn't yet tested it in combat, it felt as though I had much more flexibility and the lightweight armour allowed me to move much quicker and more silently. I decided to test my stealth abilities on the corrugated metal roofs of the warehouses down in the industrial part of town, they'd give a good indication of how quiet I was now able to be.

I spent most of the night bouncing from roof to roof and swinging from cranes, pushing the suit to its limits – it felt a lot like being back at the circus with my parents, taking risks and pushing boundaries.

The warehouse district was incredibly quiet at night, which made it the perfect haunt for prostitutes to discreetly go about their business. I'd noticed that one girl was skulking up and down the roadside waiting for someone to drive past, but didn't seem to be having any luck.

While I didn't agree with the lifestyle, I figured it would be worth keeping an eye on her while I was in the area and making sure she was OK. I balanced myself on the high fences that separated the warehouses from the roadside.

The dark-haired prostitute was fairly attractive, not your run of the mill streetwalker. But she seemed to be having trouble picking up customers. That said, it didn't look like she was putting in much effort to pick them up.

Her cell phone rang after about half an hour of tailing her, she stared at the screen for a moment – hesitating to answer. "Hey Stan…" She said, her voice quivering dramatically "… No honestly, it'll pick up… I'm doing the best I can… Fine… OK… See you soon"

After the phone call, she stopped trying to entice the passing drivers altogether.

Another half hour passed, a white car pulled up next to the prostitute. Out stepped a man in a white suit with matching white trilby, escorted by his muscle-bound driver. "Trixie, Trixie, Trixie" He addressed her, his voice low and soothing "Tut tut, not one paying customer all night"

Trixie looked petrified as he got closer to her, "I'm sorry, Stan… It's just… It's been a slow night that's all"

"Slow night? Wasn't that your excuse last night?" He asked with a sly smile. Trixie began to cry into her hands. "Don't cry baby, we can go back to my place for some _training_ with the other girls"

"Please, Stan, I'll try harder… I don't need any practice sessions; I promise I'll do better!" She desperately responded.

Stan looked at her and smiled "Oh Trixie" he said softly, getting closer to her "You will do… As you are told" His hand was suddenly behind her head, pulling her hair. She fell to her knees and closed her eyes – expecting to receive a beating.

"Please, Stan, please" She grovelled, he removed his hand from her hair and took off his large ruby encrusted ring that looked curiously like the head of a bird, he then proceeded to put on a pair of white gloves. She squeezed her eyes together tightly and buried her head in her hands. The next thing she heard was a large thud, like a brick hitting metal.

Her eyes opened to see me with my hand on the back of Stan's head, his face pressed against the hood of his car. "You gonna do as you're told now huh, Stanley?" I growled. One of Bruce's cardinal rules was never to fight angry – but after what I'd just witnessed I was finding it very hard to contain my disgust.

Trixie huddled herself up in a ball against the fence defensively as I threw Stan on to the sidewalk, he landed butt-first in a heap – his driver hopped out of the car ready to attack, I pointed my finger at him "Stay out of this, Argyle".

As I expected, the driver charged at me. He was very large, if he'd have wanted he could have probably been in the NFL.

I was quick on my feet at the best of times but the bulky driver caught me on the shoulder with his tackling charge as I attempted to evade him.

I spun off balance for a second before leaping on to the hood of the white car.

"Scared to fight me asshole?" The driver shouted with a smug look on his face. Stan was attempting to sneak away, I had to act fast.

"I'm terrified, please don't hurt me" I mocked.

The chunk of muscle lunged again, bad move. Timing it just right, I jumped up and planted my feet on the man's shoulders – my weight smashing his head into the hood of the car.

I spring-boarded myself off of the giant unconscious lump and went after Stan who'd managed to crawl a few yards down the sidewalk.

"You'll regret this Batboy, I got friends you know – powerful friends" Stan shouted, reaching into his jacket. I lunged at him and pulled his hand from inside his jacket, as I suspected; he was reaching for gun. I knocked the gun on to the floor and pinned him against the fence.

I dragged him back to the car and handcuffed him to the door handle. I repeated the process with the driver who was still out cold.

Trixie was still curled up by the fence "Don't forget me Trix, I'll be seeing you soon!" Stan shouted after her. "You're making a huge mistake, boy" he continued, now talking to me.

"There's no mistake here, I'm just cleaning scum off the streets"

"You think?" Stan laughed arrogantly.

I pressed the emergency callout button on my wristpad "I need a patrol car at my current location, ASAP – I've just apprehended a suspect in the middle of an assault"

"Assault, don't make me laugh – I was disciplining an employee"

*** The patrol car pulled up where I was standing with my captives. We vigilantes had an odd relationship with the law in Gotham. Some cops want to see us put behind bars, and others think we're a valuable asset – namely the police commissioner, Jim Gordon. Jim had been the commissioner for as long as I could remember, using Bruce and I to stop the big guns like the Joker from running amok. Before Gordon, things were tougher for Batman; who was hunted like a common criminal.

To my surprise, my good pal Nate stepped out of the police car with his partner. Not wanting to risk Nate recognising me I stood back in the shadows.

The two officers walked towards us with hands on holsters. "Thanks for the call Nightwing" Nate said, giving me a nod.

"No problem" I replied "Tell Commissioner Gordon I said to look into this one, this guy is dangerous and I have reason to believe he's running an illegal prostitution operation"

"I don't know what he's talking about officers, I'm a legitimate businessman!" Stan protested as I unlocked his cuffs and pushed him toward Nate's partner.

"Be careful with the driver too, he's a tough cookie" I pointed out.

"Thanks" Nate's partner said.

I un-cuffed both captives and helped the officers get them in the back of the patrol car. They drove off back to the station and left Trixie in my care.

As soon as the police car was gone she rose to her feet "Thanks" She said, sarcastically.

"Excuse me?" I replied with surprise.

"You may have just ruined a three-month undercover Op'" _She was a cop_.

"Oh crap… Sorry about that"

"Our buddy Stan has friends at the station and the DA's Office, and we ain't got a shred of physical evidence on him – so he's gonna walk" She explained angrily.

"Look, what else was I supposed to do? Sorry again that I saved you from a beating"

"He was going to take me back to his compound!"

"And probably rape you!"

"I can handle myself, I'd have had a location and definitive proof that this asshole is the scum we all know he is – but you had to swoop in with your superhero act and _save_ me"

"So I shouldn't help someone when they're in danger?"

"You shouldn't be doing what you're doing at all! If you wanna help, then join the Police Force and obey the goddamn law"

There was an awkwardly long silence after that. I wasn't a fan of awkward silences, or silences of any kind really.

"What's your name?" I asked randomly, in the hope of breaking some of the tension.

"What?" She responded.

"Well it's not 'Trixie'" I said in a sarcastic tone.

"And yours isn't 'Nightwing', I think Trixie is a much more acceptable alias – what the hell is a Nightwing anyway?"

I scowled at her, _how dare she insult my codename_.

"It's Detective Ellen Yin" She said finally "You better remember that when you see Gordon, you can tell him it was all your fault when another one of Stan's girls turns up dead"

I turned away from her "I'll speak to Gordon" I said "There's gotta be a way of keeping Stan off the streets"

"Not for long" She said, sceptically.

"Maybe long enough for me to find his place"

"Haven't you done enough?!"

"No, not yet"


	13. Chapter 13

**I Wanna Be Yours**

Detective Yin's words had stuck with me, but I wasn't going to let her be right. I couldn't allow myself to be responsible for the death of a young girl at the hands of this 'Stan'. I spent my free time the following week chasing down leads on the street and on the Batcomputer, it couldn't have been that hard to find a brothel.

As it turned out, there were a lot of Brothels in Gotham City… And raiding them when Stan was locked up wasn't going to help me put him away. It was starting to look like I'd have to wait for him to be let out so that I could tail him.

Bruce had informed me that there was a Masquerade Ball to celebrate the grand reopening of the Gotham City Casino, something I had little to no interest in. I'd read about the _grand closure_ of the place in the newspaper, Batman had stopped a bunch of amateurs who were trying to break into the vault. Needless to say he made quick work of them, but not before they ruined half of the casino with their makeshift explosives.

While I wasn't interested in the event, I certainly had an interest in a few of the guests. Harvey Dent was the Assistant DA, and a long-time personal friend of Bruce's, he was known to most people as the White Knight of Gotham – mostly because of his relentlessly _above-board_ war on crime. I figured if I could get a few drinks down Harvey I could get a clue as to who the corrupt links were at the DA's office.

Another guest that naturally caught my attention was Roland Daggett, not because I wanted to speak to the famous pharmaceutical mogul, but because his plus one was often his daughter –hopefully I'd be able to get some face-time with her and sort out our misunderstanding.

*** My room at Wayne Manor had been kept in pristine condition by Alfred, I had gone there to get ready for the evening's events. The doting butler had even picked out a suit for me and left it on my old bed, ready for my arrival.

I had all but buttoned up my shirt and was attempting to tie my tie when Barbara appeared in the doorway. She looked stunning in her evening gown. Her hair was down, which was unusual for her, and she was wearing her contacts.

"Looking good" She said with a smile.

"Thanks, you're not looking so bad yourself" I continued in my attempt to tie the tie, it wasn't going well.

"Come here" She sighed, walking over to me "You're way too old to not be able to tie a tie" Her hands overlapped my own and took hold of the tie, she proceeded to run it around the back of my neck and flawlessly tie it. She pressed her hands on my chest and looked into my eyes "There, how does that feel?"

"Good" I replied, I wasn't sure we were talking about the tie anymore. We were closer than we'd been in a long time, it suddenly hit me that this was the first time I'd looked her dead in the eye since we broke up…

For a minute, it felt like she might have been about to kiss me. I can't say for certain whether I'd have stopped her. But then she said the words that dissolved the tension completely "You need…" She began softly "To brush your teeth" she laughed and patted me on the cheek, and strolled out of the room with a spring in her step.

I took a second, then buttoned up my suit jacket and made my way to the main entrance hall where Bruce and Barbara were waiting.

"Ready to go?" Bruce asked as I made my way down the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm all good" I said, nodding.

"Alright, the Batwing is on standby in case anything goes wrong"

"Paranoid as ever, I see" I quipped with a smile.

"It's Gotham City" Barbara interjected "How many of these functions _don't_ end in gunfire and chaos?"

"You're both way too negative, we might even have a good time at this thing" I joked, they didn't look impressed.

Alfred opened the main door and called "Come Master Bruce, the car is waiting"

We made our way out of Wayne Manor and hopped in the Rolls Royce that awaited us in the driveway. "Don't forget this" Barbara said, handing me an extravagant eye-mask "It's a _masquerade_ , remember"

As soon as we were all in the car, Alfred set off toward the city.

"So" Bruce started "I heard you managed to get yourself shot"

"Yeah" I replied "Not one of my proudest moments"

"How'd that happen?"

"The usual, being all heroic and stuff"

"You're no use to anyone if you're dead, be more careful next time"

"I know…" I sighed, like a schoolboy who'd disappointed his teacher "I misread the situation"

"We've all been there" Barbara said, with a tone of understanding "Who's your new helper anyway?"

"What" I replied.

"You said there was a girl there, she saved your butt from what you told me"

"She didn't _save_ me, she just made the situation a little easier"

"Well, who was she?"

"I don't know her name; but she calls herself the Spoiler"

"The Spoiler?" Bruce interjected "Recruiting a sidekick?"

"No" I replied "I ran into her on a patrol, from what I can tell she wants to be one of us – I was actually in the middle of warning her off when I had to go and stop the hostage situation"

"I'll keep an eye out for her" Bruce said, he didn't sound happy about the idea of me having a sidekick – even if she wasn't one.

*** We arrived fashionably late to the party, pretty standard practice for Bruce Wayne. The Casino was bustling with guests and everyone seemed to be having a great time mingling with the rich and snooty. I sort of recognised some of the B-list celebrities that were there to gain some much-needed exposure, but mostly the room was filled with strangers.

"Dick Grayson!" Called a voice "Yoo-hoo, Dick honey over here" It was Gerty from the Gotham Gazette, someone I wholesomely wish was a _stranger_ – she was a gossip column writer who had a tendency to be up everyone's nose at these events.

"Hey" I responded, wishing I'd put on my mask as soon I'd walked in.

"It's been a long time, Dick!" Gerty began "Is it true you've been keeping away from these events to focus on your schoolwork?" She has a Dictaphone concealed under her hand, as if my almost unnoticeable absence from a few social events was somehow a big scoop for her and she needed to record every word.

"That's right" I said uncomfortably, my eyes darting around the room looking for an excuse to exit the conversation.

"Well it's just _wonderful_ to see that you're back!" She droned "You must tell me all about…"

"Gerty!" Bruce interrupted "I believe I owe you a cocktail from our last party" He put his arm around her and began to escort her away.

"Bruce Wayne, are you trying to get me drunk?" She laughed offensively.

"Thanks" I whispered to Bruce.

"You looked like you could use the help" He replied, walking away with Gerty on his arm – it felt as though he'd taken a bullet for me.

I abruptly turned around to head in the other direction. In my spontaneous motion I bumped straight into another guest, spilling her drink down her dress.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry" I apologised, pulling out my pocket square to use as a handkerchief.

"I already have a pretty long list about you, do I need to add _clumsy_ to it too?" It was Melissa Daggett… _Of course it would be Melissa Daggett_.

I laughed, even more uncomfortably than when I'd been talking to Gerty "Can I escort you to find some paper towels?"

She rolled her eyes and patted the wet patch on her gorgeous red dress "What are you doing here, Grayson?"

"Would you believe me if I said I was here to see you?" I smiled.

"No" She responded sharply, before asking "Are you?"

"Uhm… Kinda" I responded feebly.

"Look I'm just gonna go and clean myself up, you have yourself a lovely night" She walked away toward the washroom, _I wasn't going to let her just keep avoiding me like that._

"Melissa wait" I gave chase.

"What do you want?" We stopped in the empty corridor which must have led to the washroom.

"Look, I've been trying to tell you this for weeks now…"

"Trying to tell me what?" She snapped.

"Well for one, Emily is not my girlfriend – she's just a really good friend who I've known since High School… Which I guess is why we seem so close"

"Great, and?"

"And, I wasn't just messing you around when I kissed you… I like you, Melissa, I like you a lot"

"You _like_ me?" She questioned "Why didn't you just say?"

"I tried!" I exclaimed.

"Well, I guess I shouldn't have just run off on you like that but… the whole thing took me by surprise"

"Yeah me too, but like I said – I do like you, it wasn't just some random thing"

"Alright, how about you take me on a date?"

"A date?"

"Yes, Grayson, a date – it's where two people who like each other go out and partake in an activity together" She explained, sarcastically.

"Very funny… When were you thinking?"

"I will leave that up to you" She smiled, poking me in the chest and turning to walk away.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"I'm going to get cleaned up and enjoy the party. You can call me tomorrow and we'll have our date!" She smiled and disappeared through the washroom door.

I grinned gleefully to myself as I re-joined the party, _things were certainly looking up for Dick Grayson, now to find Harvey and turn the tides for Nightwing._

*** After wading through the hordes of masked dancers and party-goers I finally came across Harvey and Bruce sat at a table in the very corner of the bar area. Harvey called out my name and invited me to sit with them.

"Where have you been all night, buddy?" He asked cheerfully, I could see Bruce had bought him his fourth cocktail of the night and he was beginning to loosen up "Bruce and I were just talking about you – we both agreed that you've made the right choice taking on the perils of College"

"Thanks Harvey" I grinned.

"So what's new down at the DA's office?" Bruce asked.

"Nothing much really, they still won't let me take Salvatore Maroni to trial" He explained "Even though I know for a fact he's running the Falcone Crime Family, now"

"How do you know that, Harvey?" Bruce questioned.

"Well he was Carmine Falcone's second in command when Batman helped put him away, so it only makes sense he'd take up the top job. I've had plenty of witnesses tell me in confidence but they've all been too scared to give an official statement"

"You'll get him eventually, Harv, you always do!" Bruce said, positively.

A heavy redheaded gentleman in an expensive grey suit appeared and pulled up a chair to our table. He sat down and slammed his giant hands down on the table, each of his fingers had an enormous ring on it - he was extravigant to say the least "Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent – just the men I wanted to see!" He greeted.

"Roland Daggett, how can we help you this _fine_ evening?" Harvey responded cheerfully.

 _This was Melissa's father_ ; I could only hope she hadn't mentioned me.

"Well gentleman, I will be running for Mayor next term – and my fiancée told me you'd be the perfect supporters for my campaign!" Roland explained.

"I tend to remain impartial in matters of politics" Bruce responded, Roland's brow shifted into a scowl before Bruce continued "Unless of course you have some really big changes in mind?"

The question calmed Roland's brow, which relaxed once more. "I'll send you my manifesto via email, I have some big ideas about cleaning up this city – god knows under the _current_ leadership this place is getting worse by the day"

"You think so?" Harvey contested "The crime stats are at an all-time low, hell it's not even just Batman that's stopping these criminals anymore – there's even a Bat- _girl_ now, and the name Nightwing has crossed my desk more than a few times in the past couple of months"

"Yeah so there's a couple of new nutballs risking their lives to save the hapless citizens of our fair city – so what?" Roland growled "You mark my words – by the end of the year we'll be way worse off than when we started"

"I don't think calling the citizens of Gotham hapless is going to do much for the campaign" I retorted. Harvey laughed out loud and drunkenly slammed his fist on the table.

Roland turned to face me for the first time since he'd sat down "And you are?"

"This is Dick Grayson, my adopted son" Bruce interjected defensively.

"Oh of course… the circus boy" He groaned. Something about the way he said that made my blood boil, I wasn't sure how such a pompous ass could be Melissa's father – _make no wonder he was remarrying_ , her mother probably had the good sense to run away.

"Well if there's nothing else" Harvey said "I'll be making my way to the bar, coming Dick?"

"Sure, someone's gotta stop you from falling on your ass" I laughed "You joining us, Bruce"

"I'll catch you up" Bruce said, nodding his head to me as I stood from the table.

Harvey and I headed for the bar "Don't take anything Roland says to heart, there's a medical term for people like him"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah – he's an asshole" Harvey chortled.

*** It took its time but Harvey finally gave me a name to work from, Carl Finch, he'd counselled Stan on a number of occasions. So all I needed to do was find out what Stan had over Finch, if it was just that he was buying him off then a little fear would put a stop to that.

That still didn't solve my problem in terms of finding this hidden brothel though, so unfortunately I would have to let things run their course so that Stan could get back on the street. But as long as everything went to plan, he wouldn't be on the street for long.


	14. Chapter 14

**Ten Feet High and Rising**

I sat cross-legged on the rooftop of the apartment building downtown where I'd met the Spoiler. If my calculations were correct she was due up there any minute to start her 'training'.

Sure enough she appeared a few rooftops away from me, ready to start her run. I dropped behind a roof vent so as not to break her concentration. The amateur crime-fighter bolted to the ledge of the first rooftop, clearing it with ease. The second was no challenge to her either. The third was where she'd had trouble in the past – I was ready to leap out and catch her if necessary. She let out a grunt as she sprung across the large gap in the rooftops, to her credit she'd clearly been training a lot – landing on the rooftop with room to spare.

"Yes!" She exclaimed, fist in the air.

"Impressive" I said, genuinely, as I revealed myself to her.

"You again" She said glumly "Come to tell me off some more?"

"Not tonight, I was serious when I said you could use some training"

"Wait so you're here to train me?" She said, her tone of voice shifting to a much happier one.

"If you think you're up to it?" I asked.

"Hell yeah, where do we start? Kicking some bad-guy ass?"

"No, you're not even close to that yet"

"Hey, I can fight" She boasted.

"That might be true, but right now we're gonna practice some stealth and balance"

"Stealth? I can be sneaky – you didn't know I followed you the other night"

"Turning up half an hour after me when you knew where I was going is hardly following me"

"Fine. Where are we going?"

"Before we go anywhere, put these on" I threw her a bag which I'd packed with gear for her to use. She pulled open the bag and started unpacking the equipment: kneepads, elbow-pads, protective vest and a grapple gun "You can keep the pads, but I'm not leaving you with that grapple gun"

"Cool!"

*** We got to the warehousing sector of Bleake Island half an hour later, we may have been quicker had I not needed to carry Spoiler on my shoulders when we had to grapple over long distances… She did _not_ appreciate that, but I couldn't just let her lose with a grapple and no training "I'm eighteen you know; I don't need to be carried like a toddler" She complained as she dropped from my back on to the metal roof of the warehouse.

"So you're eighteen and you're annoying, that is literally all I know about you so far" I said.

"Annoying? Pfft, says you"

"Don't get cocky, I'll leave you up here"

"You wouldn't dare"

"Don't tempt me, kid"

"Kid?" She spat "We're practically the same age!"

"No we aren't, I'm thirty-seven" I declared, jokingly.

"You look like you're twenty, at the most" _she had a good eye, I had to give her that_. "So what are we doing here anyway?"

"We're training" I smiled "You see that crane over there?" I pointed to a large red crane which reached way up into the sky. It was being used to construct a couple of new warehouses.

"Oh god, you want me to climb it don't you" She gulped.

"Yep" I grinned.

"Forget it"

"Thought you wanted to be trained?"

"To beat up bad guys, not to bungee jump off a crane"

"Not a fan of heights huh?"

"Heights aren't the issue here; it's falling from the heights that worries me"

"We're going up the ladder the first time, don't worry about it"

"If I do this, will you definitely let me fight some bad guys?"

"Depends"

"On what?"

"Well you can't help me fight crime if you fall to your death"

"You jerk!"

*** Approaching the base of the crane, Spoiler started to realise it looked much bigger up close.

"You're going first" I commanded, pointing at the ladder.

She tilted her head as she looked at me "What, so you can watch my ass as I climb? Pervert"

"No?! So I can catch you if you fall" I exclaimed.

She started laughing "I'm kidding you loser – let's do this"

We began to scale the crane, even using the ladder could be unnerving for a first-timer, but she was doing OK.

My young apprentice stopped abruptly when we were about halfway up.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Nothing" She exhaled loudly "Just taking a second" We continued to climb, reaching the top in a matter of minutes.

"See, that wasn't so bad" I said to her, she was sat on the floor – unable to stand.

"Can we go down now?" She whimpered.

"Not yet, that was only part one"

"Shit, what's part two?"

"Allow me to demonstrate" I hopped out on to the long arm of the crane and began to move out to the far end. Being up this high was enough to make anyone go crazy, I remembered there being a time when I would have done the same – granted I was probably five years old. My parents were always in the back of my mind, but heights really brought them to the forefront… I could almost see them sometimes, spurring me on.

"Are you crazy?! I'm not doing that!" Spoiler shouted to me.

"In that case, training's over – I trust you can find your own way down?" I said,

"Wait, wait, wait – will you catch me?" She asked, I could hear the fear in her voice, but there was an element of courage there too. Her determination reminded me a lot of Jason.

I walked back to her, she was standing up now, clutching the metal railing.

"I'm not going to catch you…" I told her.

"Screw you!" She cursed. I smiled at her as I clipped a wire harness to the back of her vest and on to the railing.

"Feel better now?"

"Sorry…" She apologised "Can we just get this over with?"

"Sure, I'll meet you out there"

I went back out to the end, this time on the very top beam of the crane. I was showing off, there was no doubt about that.

Spoiler quivered as she took her first steps on to the gangway. I could just about hear her whispering to herself. I imagined she was giving herself encouragement, I stayed silent in the hope that she could motivate herself enough to get to me.

She managed to get a quarter of the way out before taking a breather "I'm good!" She shouted before I could ask. With a deep breath she moved again slowly, holding on to the beams as she put one foot in front of the other like a baby that had just learned to walk. There was a loud squeak has her boot slipped on the metal "Shit!" She was clutching the beam as one foot hung in the air.

"Do you need me to come help? You've done well so far" I asked, concerned.

"No, I can do this!" Her foot re-joined her other foot and she regained her balance. The last few metres were the easiest for her, her confidence had almost tripled from one end of the crane to the other "That was amazing, like, really amazing!"

"I'm going to unhook you now" I explained.

"Say what now?" She quivered. Without another word I pulled the harness from her vest and pressed a button which unhooked the other end and reeled the whole thing back together.

"You bastard, this is so not fair!" She screamed "You can't just take away my safety net like that!"

"Well that's how they did it with me" I retorted.

"They?"

"Never mind, grab on to my waist"

"No way, I'm not letting go of the crane until you hook me back up" She stubbornly stated.

"OK, see you later"

"Oh my god stop doing that!" She shouted before reaching out and clutching my waist for dear life.

"Right now stand up a little more so I can get my arm around you properly" She did as I asked, I had her comfortably under my arm. There was a loud _clink_ as I attached my grapple to the end of the crane.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" She panicked "Don't you dare, don't you fricking dare!"

With the girl in one hand and my grapple in the other I leapt backwards off the end of the crane. We hurtled feet first toward the ground "Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!" She screeched as we dropped, nothing beneath us but air and eventually concrete.

We slowed almost to a halt before we even reached the ground, Spoiler sounded like she might have been having a panic attack. Her breathing was erratic and her whole body was shaking. Once she realised her feet were back on solid ground she proceeded to attack me.

"You asshole!" She shouted, throwing a punch to the face which I caught immediately in my hand.

"What are you complaining about?" I questioned "You did great"

Her mood seemed to settle again "I was pretty good wasn't I?"

"Don't get cocky"

"Sorry, boss" she stood to attention and gave me a faux salute.

"Alright, let's get you home"


	15. Chapter 15

**Wicked Game**

My heart was racing at an unbelievable pace… This was it…

This was the culmination of all my efforts…

I'd finally made my decision…

 _This_ … This was the outfit I was going to wear for my date with Melissa. A pair of jeans and a button-up shirt – the classic combo.

I felt as though I should be warming up or something, but instead I was just sat in front of the TV waiting for her father to drop her off. I could only hope she hadn't told him she was seeing the same guy that upset him at the casino opening, that would have made for an awkward conversation.

I'd decided to take her out for dinner and a movie, _another_ classic combo. Unfortunately, she had refused to be a passenger on my motorcycle, so we were going to be taking a cab.

I scrolled through the Gotham Gazette website on my phone while I waited for Melissa to arrive, I'd gotten ready way too early. Sure enough, Gerty had written a trashy gossip article about the Casino opening party. The headline, _if you could even call it that_ , was 'DA Dent Drinking Problem?' she'd clearly been spying on us… As the title suggested she had analysed Harvey's actions on the night and deduced that he had a very serious drinking problem. I was mentioned in the article as Harvey's 'junior drinking partner' and she voiced her opinion on him being a 'bad influence' on me, which was way better than it could have been – I'd appeared in her column before and regardless of what the story was it always came back to my tragic past and how she could still ' _see the pain in my eyes_ ' what an irritating woman she was.

*** After an eternity of flipping through pointless news articles and egotistically watching unflattering clips of myself on YouTube, Melissa finally knocked at the door. She looked even more beautiful than she had done at the party, maybe that was because she was actually smiling at me.

"This is a first" She smiled.

"What, you greeting me with a smile?" I joked.

"No" She replied "You're wearing pants"

We both laughed "Come on in" I stood to one side and gestured toward the couch.

"Thanks" She walked in and took a seat where she had on her previous visits.

"I've ordered the cab; it should be here soon – can I get you a drink?"

"Sure, what do you have?"

"Uhm, we could open a bottle of wine?" I suggested, shrugging.

"Sounds good"

I took over two small glasses of the red wine that had been gathering dust in my cupboard – I didn't even really like wine. Bruce was never much of a drinker, he would drink ginger ale at parties instead of champagne so that he was always alert – his aversion to alcohol was something I'd obviously picked up on. Don't get me wrong, I understood the appeal of a cold beer after a hard day at work… Or rather a night on patrol.

In spite of all that, I glugged the wine with a smile on my face... Maybe a little too fast.

"Slow down Grayson, I read about your _problems_ in the Gazette" She laughed, sipping her wine in a ladylike way that made me feel like a bit of a pig for consuming mine so quickly.

"You read that, huh?" I responded.

"Yeah – Mr Dent is _bad_ influence on you"

"I'm easily influenced what can I say"

"I can see that, I influenced you so much that you thought this date was _your_ idea" She laughed mischievously, shuffling up close to me on the couch.

"Oh yeah?" I asked "So what do you want me to do now, boss?"

"I think you know" She smiled, leaning in closer. I laughed and sweetly kissed her on her lower lip, immediately her hands were pulling me into another passionate embrace.

I pulled away for a second.

"What's the matter?" She asked.

"Well…" I replied "Isn't this the part where you run away?"

She lightly punched my shoulder "You're _so_ funny"

"I know" I smiled playfully.

"Come here, before I do run away" She grinned, pulling me in for another round.

*** We arrived at the restaurant over an hour later. I had to pay a small fine to the cab driver for keeping him waiting, Melissa and I had gotten carried away with our fooling around and the poor guy had to actually come up to the room and knock on the door to get our attention.

The restaurant was a small italian place in the city. It wasn't the fanciest place in Gotham but it was pretty low key and we wouldn't bump into any paparazzi-types. I wasn't exactly ridiculously famous but on a slow news day I was as interesting to the Gotham Gazzette as one of those 'real housewives'.

"Ah Mr Grayson, come on in - we have a table reserved for you on the terrace" Said the waiter

"Thanks very much" I smiled

"The terrace?" Melissa whispered "Nice"

 _So far, so good,_ I thought to myself.

The terrace was lit with fairy lights and there was only one other couple out there. My date seemed very impressed as the waiter pulled out her chair to let her sit down. "Well Grayson, I'm impressed" She said "I was half expecting you take me somewhere snobby"

"Oh yeah?" I replied

"Well, I think people just assume that's what I'd be in to"

"Nah, who needs to be surrounded by all those fake people"

"Exactly! There's always someone who knows my father who simply _must_ come over and say hello"

Suddenly I felt my watch vibrate, that was never good.

"Sorry, I just gotta go to the bathroom" I lied as I stood up

"OK, don't be too long!"

I rushed into the bathroom and locked myself in the first stall. I scanned my thumbprint on my watch, Alfred's face appeared on the face of the watch.

"Master Dick, I hope I'm not interrupting" He said

"Uhm, kind of - what is it Alf?" I replied

"Master Bruce needs your help"

"Can it wait, I'm in the middle of something"

"Oh dear, you haven't watched the news in the last few minutes have you?"

"No, what's going on?" As I asked, the screen switched to _Gotham News_.

A female reporter was stood with a microphone outside of Arkham Asylum. "Yes Tom" She answered what I assume was the anchorman in the studio "It appears that Mr Freeze was given access to his equipment inside of the facility - and now patients are running loose in the asylum..."

Cutting back to Tom in the studio he asked "Do we know if the guards are in control of the situation?"

The reporter replied "It's unclear, but as you can see behind me, Comissioner Gordon is personally leading a team who are currently surrounding the facilty and -"

 _BOOM!_ An explosion blew an emormous hole in the upper floor of the Asylum. Debris hit the cameraman and his camera hit the floor. The image had tilted ninety degrees and voices could be heard screaming.

Alfred appeared back on the screen "Well, Master Dick?"

"Tell Bruce I'm on my way"

I darted out of the bathroom into the main area of the restaurant, I could see Melissa on the terrace looking out at the view with a smile... But I didn't have time to make an excuse, the TV above the bar showed that a gunfight had broken out at the Asylum - I was going to have to leave her there, yet another personal sacrifice for the greater good.


	16. Chapter 16

**Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't**

The Heads Up Display in my mask said that Arkham was only two kilometres from my position. I sped through the streets on my bike, weaving in and out of traffic at breakneck speed. _How could this have happened?_ Freeze was locked in giant glass refrigerator with a titanium door - the only way out was with a key and even then, Freeze was on the side of the door without a handle.

This wasn't the first Arkham breakout, the Joker had caused a similar scene in the not-so-distant past. Luckily for us the Joker was dead, but that didn't mean the patients at Arkham were going to be easy to detain.

"Barbara, what's the situation?" I asked over my headset

"It's not good, Batman went inside and we've lost communication - something's blocking signals in and out" She replied immediately.

"What about you? Where are you?"

"Freeze got out before the police got there, I'm tracking him down"

"Can you handle him alone?"

"Don't you worry about me. Besides, I'm in the Batmobile"

"If you say so, be safe"

"You too, don't go getting yourself shot - _again_ "

" _Hilarious_ , I'm coming up on the Asylum now - over and out!"

I screeched up behind a patrol car that was being used as cover outside the main gate to the Asylum. The air was filled with the sound of gunshots and the whizzing of bullets, the patients had overrun the guards and taken their weapons - using them to fire on the cops. Several ambulances were back from the firing line, treating wounded officers and staff.

Dismounting the bike I leapt into cover with a couple of the officers "Where's Gordon?" I shouted.

"Over by the SWAT van!" He responded, pointing to the SWAT van in the courtyard near the main entrance to the building - I couldn't see him from where I was.

"Thanks! What about Batman?" I continued.

"I didn't see him but I heard he's inside!"

Without another word I slid over the hood of the patrol car and rolled behind a parked car that had been shredded by bullets. Luckily for me there were plenty of cars to duck behind as I made my way closer to Gordon's location. I unholstered my escrima sticks as I got closer to the danger - men in orange jumpsuits were hiding at the other side of the very car I myself was using for cover.

In the noise and commotion, I yanked open the door nearest to me on the car - sliding feet first across the back seats. Bringing my knees up to my chest I readied myself for my next move. With a swift explosion of power, I smashed open the door on the other side of the car with my legs, knocking two of the three men flying backwards.

"What the - ?" The other exclaimed as I emerged speedily from the vehicle. He raised his fists to attack me, but a rapid kick to his forearm careered his fist into his own face, knocking him unconscious.

Without taking a breath, I charged into the two patients that were recovering from my first attack. One of them crashed head-first into the Asylum wall, but the other wasn't going down so easily, he started to pull himself to his feet - picking up a shard of broken glass as he did. It wasn't until he lifted his head up that I recognised him, his scarred face was unforgettable.

"Zsasz..." I thought out loud, this guy had caused me some serious problems in the past.

"Nightwing! I think I got a clean patch o' skin behind my ear where I can carve a mark just for you!" Zsasz laughed, as he ran his tongue up the piece of broken glass.

It became immediately apparent that this was a distraction technique as he sharply broke out into a frenzy of attempts to slash me. I avoided each swipe with matrix-like movements. Unfortunately it appeared I was not quite Neo after all, as he backed me into the corner where the main building met the outside wall. I quickly lashed out with an escrima stick, smashing the shard of glass. Zsasz proceeded to kick me in the gut while I was off guard, following with a bone-scrushing strike to my jaw which knocked me on to my side.

The officers in the distance must have been watching our fight, because as soon as I hit the ground they started taking shots at Zsasz. A bullet grazed the top of his head as he dropped to the ground.

"Ouch" He laughed as he reached to the top of his head to feel the wound. Licking the blood from his fingertips he began to crawl towards me on his hands and knees. Still in a daze from the rock-hard fist I'd taken to the face, I grabbed for an ecrisma stick. I didn't have time to hit him with it. Zsasz pushed me onto my back and grabbed me by the throat with both hands, squeezing hard "I prefer to use a knife but, I guess this could be fun" He chuckled

"Don't I get... Any last words" I gargled

"Heh heh, sure" He laughed victoriously, releasing his grip slightly.

"Bzzt" I said

"Huh?"

"Bzzzt"

"What are you -" I jammed my escrima stick into the side of his neck, delivering a high-voltage shock which flinged the psychopathic serial killer off me and onto the floor. I followed with a very precise hit to his forehead which rendered him unconscious.

I wasn't leaving Zsasz to wake up and escape, so I tied him securely to one of the parked cars and made my way to the SWAT van. Dodging bullets and knocking out escapees as I went, I arrived at the van in no time at all.

There were no officers using it as cover so they must have been inside. "Gordon! Open up!" I hit my fist on the doors at the back of the van "It's Nightwing!"

No answer. I hit it again a few times to no avail. I pulled open the door to find the van empty with one large bloody handprint on the inside of the door.

This did not look good.

*** After incapacitating the majority of escaped patients in the courtyard the police and SWAT teams moved closer to the entrance and formed a perimeter around the main entrance.

"We've secured the perimeter, captain!" I heard one of the officers shout.

"How are we doing with the escapees?" His commanding officer responded as she signalled some of her men to fall back.

"We've managed to round a few of them up, but until we've secured the facility we can't know for certain who or how many got away"

"And how many men did we... lose?"

"Five dead sir, unknown how many injured and we have at least three who are critical"

"God damn it, I don't want any further casualties" She snarled "Nightwing, how's your boy doing in there?" I didn't even know she knew I was there.

"No idea captain, I've had no contact" I responded, shaking my head.

"What's your next move?"

"I'm going in, I wouldn't recommend following me"

"Well, I don't answer to you" She hesitated for a second "That being said, I don't want to lose anymore men in there... So I'm willing to give you fifteen minutes"

"Make it twenty!" I shouted as I made my way towards the Asylum door. As I grew closer I began to hear the sound of screams, mixed into the sound of terrifying laughter.

 _This was not going to be fun trip_.


	17. Chapter 17

**Institutionalized**

The hallways of the Asylum echoed with manic screams, some I recoginsed as people we'd put away a long time ago - people I never thought I'd have to face again. The lights were flickering in the hall and buzzing eerily, I crept closer to the noise - escrima sticks in hand, aler and ready.

The processing booth that separated the main entrance halls and the cells had been frozen and shattered, leaving nothing standing between the patients and the staff. Assuming that Freeze had opened the cells from the main control panel, the patients would have overrun the staff in minutes.

Passing over the icy threshold, I saw the half-frozen corpse of an orderly, his face was locked in a perpetual scream - _poor guy_. The man was just living his life, maybe working to feed his family. Stuff like that went through my mind a lot in these situations, the dead officers outside were just doing their jobs... And they died for it. Which is why we do what we do.

Unfortunately for me, thoughts like that were distracting - which is how I ended up getting sucker punched in the head. Luckily the punch was fairly ineffective, which allowed me to react quickly - grabbing the would-be assailant by his wrists in a spinning motion and pinning him against the frozen wall.

"Holy shit, Nightwing - I'm so sorry!" Said the guard, that had wrongfully assaulted me.

"Yeah thanks for that" I responded, letting go of his hands "Lucky you didn't have a gun"

"Nah, that crazy blonde took it off me" He told me.

"Crazy blonde?"

"Yeah, Quinzell or whatever her name is - the Joker's braud"

"Harley Quinn" I growled, even the thought of her made my blood boil. She played a big part in what the Joker did to Jason, luring him into the Joker's trap - something I wasn't about to let her do to anyone else I cared about. "What's your name?" I asked the guard.

"Joe" He smiled, nervously.

"Pleased to meet you Joe, punch notwithstanding"

"Yeah, again, sorry 'bout that"

"Forget about it, do you know where Batman is?"

"Last I saw he was kickin' ass in the cafeteria" He started to walk away, signalling me to follow "It's this way!"

I gave chase "Joe, you gotta get out of here you don't even have a gun"

"Neither do you, I ain't lettin' you get ambushed - it wouldn't be right"

"Yeah but, Joe..." I pointed at my suit.

"You got a uniform, so do I" He said stubbornly.

"Fine..." I sighed "Have you seen the Police Comissioner around here anywhere?"

"Gordon?"

"Yeah"

"Nah he didn't pass by me, but I was upstairs when all this went down"

We came to a fork in the corridor, Joe began to go right. _BAM!_ The door directly in front of me burst open, from it emerged a jumpsuit-clad man with a mess of black hair and a long beard who lunged at me immediately. Swiftly I bashed my escrima sticks on the sides of his neck, delivering a small electric pulse to his head and knocking him straight out.

"Easy peasy" I smirked, looking up at Joe. His eyes were wider than I'd ever seen them, he raised his finger and pointed over my shoulder. I could suddenly feel the floor shaking. I turned around quickly - only to see a screaming horde of escaped patients running towards us, _too many for me to handle_.

"Run!" I shouted to Joe. We sped to the end of the long corridor and through a pair of double doors. We slammed them behind us and slung a bench in front of it to act as a barricade.

"How far to the cafeteria?" I asked, regaining my breath.

"Uhm, we're here" Joe stated, pointing at the food counter and the overturned tables that filled the empty room.

"Then where the hell is Batman?"

"Beats me, this room was full of people fightin'" He told me, sniffing at the air as he did "Does it smell weird in here to you?"

"You're the one that works here, you tell me"

I sighed and stretched my neck back to look up to the ceiling. I had to blink a few times to comprehend what I was looking at. The ceiling was overgrown with vines, intermingled into those vines were around thirteen people - a mix of orderlies, patients... and Batman. In the centre, lying naked surrounded by flowers and vines with her red hair spread as if she were defying gravity - Poison Ivy.

"Well hello there, boys" She greeted us seductively.

"Don't look at her Joe" I snapped immediately.

"What, I ain't no pervert" He replied " I got a wife"

"It's not that, she can have an... effect on men" I explained, _I knew all too well_ "What did you do to them Ivy?!"

"They're just sleeping, for _now_ " She responded, seductively smiling.

"Why didn't you escape with the rest of them?" I raised my arms, pointing out the vines "You've clearly learned some useful new tricks"

"Oh, this? This wasn't me" She claimed.

"Huh?"

"It was _Mother Nature_ "

" _Oh_..." I rolled my eyes.

"I didn't leave with the rest of the _apes_ , because I'm not stupid"

"Clearly"

There was a loud banging at the door that we'd entered through - unbeknownst to myself and Joe, vines had grown over the door which was stopping the horde from getting in. "Joe..." I began "Is there another way out of here?"

"Sure, through the kitchen" He replied.

"Go there, now!" I commanded "Get out of here"

"I can't leave you here"

"You're not leaving me here, I have backup" I smiled.

"Batman? He looks a little out of it to me" He responded, pointing at my unconscious mentor who was hanging from the ceiling.

"Not him, now run!" I shouted.

"Who?!"

"Them!" A vine reached from the ceiling in a grabbing motion, aiming for my legs. Rolling backwards to avoid the plant-claw, I pulled a miniature explosive from my utility belt and launched it at the cafeteria door.

"Gotcha!" Joe exclaimed as he sped toward the kitchen, ducking to avoid a swinging plant.

Another vine caught my arm and began pulling me toward Ivy. Patients spilled into the room screaming in frenzied rage immediatley trying to attack the plants on the ceiling with chairs and anything they could get their hands on, Ivy's vines attempted to capture them - but as I suspected, she was becoming overwhelmed.

Her face was becoming angrier "How dare you!" she shouted at them "You filthy apes, you dare to challenge Mother Nature?"

The vines were wrapping around me tighter as she became increasingly angrier. But luckily for me the distraction of the rowdy mental patients had stopped her from adminstering the toxin that had rendered my other captive compatriots unconscious. Ivy had brought me in very close to her,so close that I could smell the pollen seeping from her chlorophyll skin.

This would have normally been the part where I'd give her a good zap with the escrima sticks and drag her to ground level. Unfortunately it appeared that I had dropped them while I was blowing open the door and getting dragged into the air. I felt a nudge in my side, one of the captives was waking up.

"Well _that_ was a great nap!" Called out a familiar voice "Nightwing? Well hey there puddin' when did _you_ join the party?" Harley Quinn... I hadn't noticed her up there. But for once her loudness wasn't unwelcome, it meant the toxin was wearing off.

"Hey, Nightwing - I'm talkin' to you!" The pigtailed blonde screeched in my ear.

"Shut up Harley, I don't have time for any of your crap this evening. I'm a little preoccupied if you hadn't noticed"

"Oh puddin' when I get outta here I'm gonna tell Mr J. you said that!" She gleefully threatened.

For a second the clown princess broke my concentration away from our captivity "My god, they didn't tell you did they?"

"Tell me what?" She scowled.

"Your _Mr J_ is dead"

"Ha ha, you're a liar!" She laughed.

"You think? Read a newspaper once in a while - the Joker tried to trap us and blew himself to kingdom come"

"You... Are... Lying!" She screamed "He said he was comin' for me!"

"You sure that wasn't the voices in your head?"

"You'll see pretty boy, Mr J's comin' back and he's gonna -" a vine wrapped itself around her mouth, shutting her up.

The rest of the plant-captives were starting to stir as Ivy's concentration broke further.

"Nightwing" Bruce's voice murmered in my earpiece "She caught my off guard"

"What happened to always minding your surroundings, huh Bats?" I whispered.

"Not the time, Nightwing" He growled "She's nearly taken care of these guys, we need to move fast"

"What's your plan?"

"I'm going to cut myself free with a batarang - can you do the same?"

"I think so" I squirmed and reached for my belt "Got one"

"Alright, on three - cut lose. When you hit the ground, throw an explosive as close as you can to Ivy without hitting any of her prisoners"

"Understood"

"One" I took a deep breath, "Two", tightly squeezed the batarang, "Three", I hacked at the large vine gripping around my arms and abdomen. It gave way quickly and dropped me face first on the floor. Managing to break my fall with my hands, I initiated Bruce's plan.

With sharp flicks of the wrist I launched two mini explosives into the air as Bruce did the same. A loud bang followed, sending the living plants into disarray.

"Bastards!" Ivy screeched as she fell from the ceiling along with the captives. She tried to flee the room but Batman tripped her and caught her by the wrist.

"You're going back to your cell" He said, coldly.

The guards that were trapped on the ceiling began to help Bruce and I round up the patients and restrain them. I made sure Harley was well restrained - although what I'd said appeared to have sent her into a state of complete panic.

"Nightwing, this way" Batman commanded, moving toward the kitchen "We still have work to do"

"Aye aye, captain" I responded as we burst through the back door to the kitchen. We were immediately greeted by a pair of orange-clad enemies. Sommersaulting into action I sprung into a roundhouse kick to the guy's jaw, sending him careering into the wall.

When I turned around, Batman's foe had already been dispatched "We need to split up" He said "Stay alert, when I got here a few of the guards was in a state of hysteria"

"Well yeah, Mr Freeze broke out an entire hospital full of deranged mental patients" I responded.

"Drug-induced hysteria - similar to what we saw with Clancy Wolfman"

"Wait, you think it was the Scarecrow?"

"Yes"

"Makes sense I guess, Freeze was protecting the Vertigo shipment - still doesn't explain why they had to make such a ruckus getting him out though"

"My thoughts exactly" Batman nodded "We better split up, if he's still here we have to find him fast"

"Alright, I was looking for Gordon - I think he might be inside"

He nodded in response.

"Oh, and there might be a guard back here called Joe, can you keep an eye out for him too?"

He nodded again and darted off in the opposite direction to me.

*** The halls were quieter now, the police had started to move in and secure the facility. Since Batman and I split up, I hadn't seen anyone at all. Suddenly a voice popped into my earpiece "Nightwing" Batman started "I've found Joe the guard, he was injured by an inmate - nothing serious"

"See Gordon?" I asked.

"No, I'm going to get Joe out of here - I'll meet up with you soon"

"Understood" The comm went dead.

Suddenly I heard a gunshot ring through the silent corridor. As anyone would do, I ran _toward_ the sound of gunfire. Three more shots rang out, followed by a loud scream of panic. "They're everywhere!" Shouted the voice, followed by two more gunshots and then the clicking sound of an empty ammo clip.

I turned a corner which led to a dead end, the only other exit was a door on the left hand wall. Gordon ran towards me with his fist raised in the air "You bastard!" He screamed, I quickly looked over my shoulder, _nope - noone there_ , he was coming at me.

His fist flew at my face, I dodged to the right and batted his arm downward "Jim, it's me!"

"You monster!" He screamed again, lunging at me "What have you done to my little girl!" I hopped backwards, he couldn't know who I was, the Scarecrow must have got him.

When he made his next swing, I tripped him up in an attempt to pacify him. Gordon stumbled right up to the end of the corridor past the door. As he attempted to come at me again, the door burst open - _just in time Bruce_ , I thought.

But the figure that emerged and grabbed Gordon by the throat was not Batman.

"Nightwing isn't it?" A deep raspy voice asked from behind the Scarecrow mask.

"That's right, you must be looking for the wizard right?"

"Excuse me?"

"You know, so that he can give you a brain? Say, where's the Tin Man and the Lion?"

"Amusing..." He responded, tightening his grip on Gordon's throat and pulling him in to use as a human shield.

"Let him go, there's nowhere for you to run" I commanded.

"Isn't there?" The Scarecrow smugly replied as if he knew something that I didn't.

"That's right, dead end"

"Well Nightwing, you've got me there" He admitted "But, you have to make a choice"

"Oh yeah?"

"I gave the commisioner a weak dose" He said. Pulling his other arm up to Gordon's head, he sprayed a vapour into the cop's face.

"Jim!" I shouted.

"This dose, is highly concentrated" The Scarecrow growled, Gordon began to scream and convulse "You have five minutes to treat him, or he will die" The maniac pushed Gordon towards me "So what will it be? Save the commissioner, or chase the villain?"

The Scarecrow already knew my answer, I slung Gordon over my shoulder and charged for the exit - leaving my new foe to escape.


	18. Chapter 18

**Fear the Voices**

Jim Gordon had been part of my life as long as I could remember. When I started out as Robin he was a police Lietenant heading up the Major Crimes Unit over at GCPD. He was secretly working with Batman whilst leading the taskforce that was assigned to bring him in.

After weeding out a lot of the corruption in the force and the unfortunate murder of Commissioner Loeb, who by all accounts was as corrupt as they came, Gordon took the big job - exhonerating Batman and I of our 'crimes' and declaring us an unofficial extension of the force by creating the bat signal.

A decent man who proved that standing up to corruption wasn't futile, and that it was possibly to be rightous and just in a city filled with criminals and crooked cops. A decent man who was about to die if I didn't do something about it.

"Batman!" I shouted into the comm link.

"What is it Nightwing?" He responded.

"It's Gordon" I panted, rushing down the winding corridors "He's been dosed with the Scarecrow's toxin!"

"Meet me at the main entrance" He commanded "Batgirl, come in"

"Hey guys, what's up?" Barbara chimed in.

"It's - " I started.

"There's been an incident" Batman interrupted "I need you to come back to Arkham, now - the antidote we synthesised for the vertigo toxin is in the Batmobile with you"

"Is everyone OK?" Barbara asked.

"They will be, as long as you get here fast" Batman stated.

"I'll be as quick as I can - out" A blip followed to signal that she could no longer hear us.

"Scarecrow said he only had five minutes" I told Bruce.

"Let's hope he was lying"

*** Bursting through into the main lobby I was greeted with gunfire. Immediately I dived into cover behind what was left of the reception desk, hurling Gordon over first with all of my bodily strength. "Hold your fire!" I shouted, putting my arms up from the desk.

"Lower your weapons, men" A gruff voice said "He's with the cops"

"With the cops?" I questioned "Then who are you?"

"That's need to know, and you don't" The man replied.

I lifted Gordon over my shoulders again and stood up with my hands raised. The men with guns were wearing black military gear, similar to SWAT officers, only their faces were covered with gas masks and the labels on their body armour read 'ARGUS'.

"The guy on my back is the Police Commissioner, I need to get him some medical attention" I explained.

"We know who he is" Their leader responded "Men, escort our masked friend to the door"

Two of the ARGUS agents ran over, helping me lift Gordon over the reception desk and over to the door "Barbara!" Gordon screamed tearfully.

"What happened to him?" The commanding officer asked.

"It's some modified version of the Vertigo drug, creates intense panic and hysteria - be careful in there" I told him. He responded by tapping his gas mask and tilting his head.

Once out of the door, the ARGUS agents went back inside and closed the door. Batman dropped from the roof above me and slung one Gordon's arms over his shoulder as I held him from the other side.

"Batgirl is nearly here" Batman said as we moved towards the armour-plated ARGUS trucks that were now all over the main courtyard.

"Should I know who ARGUS is?" I asked.

"No" He replied.

"And are you going to tell me?"

"No."

"Awesome"

Medical staff ran out from behind one of the trucks with a gurney. "Bring the Commissioner over here!" one of them shouted. Batman and I obeyed and lowered Gordon on to the gurney.

"Wait" Batman said as the paramedics began to wheel Gordon away "You can't help him, I need you to keep him here"

"This is the Commissioner of the Gotham Police Department, we have to get him to a hospital!" One of them responded, his voice quiverring slightly.

"He stays here" Batman commanded "Do what you can to keep him stabilised"

The paramedics reluctantly agreed, one of them holding Gordon down as they administered some kind of sedative.

"You sure about this?" I asked.

"Leslie ran a lot of tests, the serum we created was the only thing that came close to reversing the effects" Batman replied.

"I hope you're right about this, Bats"

*** The Batmobile roared up moments later. Gordon's condition had worsened and he was suffering from some kind of seizure. Batgirl leapt from the car and sprinted over to us with a vial of liquid in her hand. She paused for a second with utter shock as she relaised the patient she'd be using the serum on was her father. Her eyes pierced into my skull and then targetted Bruce for a split second before she put her full attention back on her father.

"It's going to be OK" She said, waving the paramedics to one side as she prepared the syringe.

His body was writhing and she couldn't get hold of her father's arm. I ran over and pinned Jim down to the gurney by his shoulders, Barbara didn't even give me a glance. She hurridly examined her father's arm before finding a good vein and jabbing the needle into it - her face was forcibly stern, holding back tears.

It took a few seconds for the drug to start taking affect, but Gordon's movements started to become less and less erratic. As his breathing started to normalise, the paramedics gave out sighs of relief and took over again, checking the commissioner's pulse "He seems to be stabilising, but we really need to get him to a hospital to make sure" the medic told us. Batman nodded and they carted him off to an ambulance.

Barbara turned to us both "You should have told me it was him" she growled.

"Your emotions could have killed him" Batman coldly responded.

"He's my father" She snarled with a lowered voice "You should have said something"

"I'm sorry Bar-" I started.

"Save it, I'm going home to get changed - Freeze is in the prisoner containtment on the back of the Batmobile" She turned away and grappled on to a nearby rooftop.

"Leave her" Batman said "I'll see to Freeze, you find out if anyone else escaped"

He really could be cold at times, but I nodded anyway and made my way out to the cops. Stood amongst them with a blanket over his shoulders and a cup of coffee was Joe, the guard who had helped me find Batman "Joe" I called to him "You alright!"

"Just a few cuts n' bruises, nothing a big insurance payout won't fix!" He laughed.

"Good to hear" I smiled as I moved on toward another familiar face.

Detective Harvey Bullock was Jim Gordon's partner way-back-when, the years hadn't been as kind to him as they had to Jim - he looked quite a few years older than he should and he hadn't been doing much to watch his weight.

"I hear you saved Gordon" He said, without a greeting.

"Kind of" I said "Who do I speak to about getting a list of escapees"

"You might want to speak to one of those ARGUS guys about that"

"What, why?"

"They've completely taken over, look" He pointed to an ARGUS truck in the yard. The squad that I'd come across in the main entrance were escorting a handcuffed Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy to the back of the truck.

"What do they want with them?" I asked.

"Not a clue, but they ain't in the business of sharing their business if you get me"

"So I guess that means I'm gonna have to wait to find out who got away?"

"Yup" He shrugged. This was going to be a long night.

*** I arrived at my apartment in the very early hours of the morning, entering through the roof. I prised myself from my body armour and dropped backwards on to the couch, I couldn't be bothered to make those few extra steps to the bedroom.

I turned on my cell phone again so that I could check the barrage of abuse that I'd received from Melissa. Thirteen missed calls from Melissa Daggett, not surprising. Following that were twenty-two missed calls from Emily, _what the hell?_ One of the calls had only been moments before my arrival.

I immediately called her back, it can't have been anything good "Hey Em, what's up?"

"Dick, you need to come to the hospital" She sniffled, her voice quiverring.

"Emily, what is it, are you OK?"

"I'm fine... it's Nate... he's been shot."


	19. Chapter 19

**So Much I**

Gotham General was where they brought my mother. After Tony Zucco sabotaged their act, my parents fell from the highwire and hit the ground without a safety net. Having read the medical report some years later, it seems my father hit the ground head first and died on impact. My mother by some miracle was actually still alive after the fall, they brought her to Gotham General and I sat by her bedside with a police officer until she succombed to her injuries and died.

That was the day that I was formally introduced to Bruce Wayne, he saw something in me that day which I guess reminded him of himself - and after what seemed like an eternity of legal proceedings, he apopted me.

Emily was waiting for me at the entrance to the hospital, as soon as I stepped out of the cab she ran towards me in a flood of tears and tightly wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her back and she looked up at me "It's bad" she sniffled "I heard a nurse saying they don't know if..." before she could finish the sentence she broke into a fit of tears.

Not knowing what to say I pulled her in closer and kissed her on the top of the head reassuringly.

"I'm sorry" I finally said "I should have got here sooner"

She looked up at me and smiled, shaking her head sympathetically - I knew she didn't blame me, but I did... I was at Arkham when Nate was shot, I should have done more to keep everyone safe.

"Come on, let's go inside and see if we can find out what's going on" I suggested.

"They won't tell us anything" Emily replied, defeatedly "We're not family"

"Is his mom not here?"

"She's the one that called me, she's out of town with relatives - she should be on the next flight back from Metropolis"

"How was she?"

"She's in pieces, all she could talk about was Nate's brother and how history was repeating itself"

"God, I never even thought about that" Nate's brother died in a gangland shooting, I could only imagine what his mother must have been going through "Nate's strong though Em, if anyone could get through this..."

"I know dude, let's go inside" She smiled weakly.

I kept my arm around her as we walked through the main reception, Emily signalled which was to go. The two of us took a seat in the waiting area which wasn't far from where Nate was being operated on. "Will you be OK here for a few minutes?" I asked.

"What, why?" Emily responded.

"I know a doctor, she might be able to get us some more information" I explained, Emily's face lit up.

"Really? Hell yeah, go!"

"Alright, and I'll get you a coffee too - you look like you could use one"

*** After using a few interogation techniques on one of the receptionists I managed to locate Leslie Thompkins. I was told she would be on one of the emergency wards looking after the drunks and the none life-threateningly injured.

The hospital was a bit of a maze but eventually I found her tending to a girl with an injured head. The girl had long wavy hair that was a sandy blonde colour, her T-shirt was blue with a superman logo on it, perfectly complementing her denim hipster shorts and fishnet tights. It wasn't until Leslie stopped dabbing the graze on the girl's forehead and I saw her nose piercing that I realised it was the girl who Emily and I had seen fighting at college.

"Can I help you?" The girl asked, looking at me with a frown.

"I'm actually here to see Dr Thompkins" I said, smiling at Leslie who had turned to face me.

"Well she's a little busy right now" The girl smiled sarcastically.

"Stephanie, this won't take a minute" Leslie interjected, dabbing cotton wool on the girl's forehead. Stephanie fliched as the anticeptic touched the wound "So you say you walked into a door?"

"Yep" The girl lied, blatantly without even really trying.

"You know, I get a lot of patients who _walk into doors_ " The doctor told her "I know some people that you could talk to"

"Thanks lady" Stephanie said, hopping to her feet "But it ain't anything like that" She grabbed her jacket and stormed away, barging past me as she did.

"What a charming young woman" I joked.

"Yes, very strange" Leslie said, scowling "How can I help you anyway, Richard? I'd have thought you'd be tucked up in bed after tonight's events"

"That's actually why I'm here" I told her "One of my friends was injured"

"Oh the commissioner? He's doing quite well..."

"No, another friend - Nate Duggan, he was an officer at the scene, he's still in surgery but no one will tell me what's happening"

"Come, I'll see what I can find out for you" She smiled.

*** I returned to Emily about ten minutes later with a warm cup of coffee.

"Thanks" She said wearily as I handed her the steaming cup. I took the seat next to her and put my hand on hers. Her eyes glazed over as I looked at her trying to keep my face as neutral as possible.

"So, I found out a few things" I began "According to someone who was on the scene, Nate and his partner were part of a group that were ambushed by escaped inmates. They managed to fight them off and subdue them, which is why they were caught off guard. One of the inmates had gotten hold of a pistol, which he used to kill two of the officers and injure Nate's partner. Nate took a shot to the leg and chest..."

"His chest!" Emily cried, tears rolling down her face again.

"But, he was wearing a vest and managed to shoot down the inmate"

"Thank god, does that mean he's gonna be alright? That nurse said he might not make it and..."

"His partner was hit four times, and Nate tried to patch him up and get him to an ambulance - but Nate..." I felt myself welling up "Nate didn't see to his own wounds... And by the time he got to the ambulance he'd lost a lot of blood"

"Oh god"

"They're doing everything they can, that's all I know"

"And what about his partner?"

I shook my head, I didn't have the heart to say the words out loud. Nate's partner was dead by the time they got to the ambulance. Being Nightwing, I'd been faced with things like this on an almost weekly basis - but I'd always managed to keep my school-friends well away from it. They were two separate worlds that coexisted without even the remotest sign that they might cross over, and then suddenly they had collided... And I was helpless to stop it.

*** I had fallen asleep on the chair with Emily in my arms, I awoke to see Leslie standing above me wearing a large parka coat. "You should both go and get some rest" She said. I sat up and woke Emily with a careful nudge.

"Everything is fine with your friend, but he's going to be in surgery for a while" Leslie explained "I'm driving home now, so I can drop you both off"

"Thanks Leslie but..." I started.

"You won't be allowed to see him until his mother gets here, so why don't you rest up?"

I looked at Emily and she nodded "Can I stay at your place?"

"Sure" I smiled, if she hadn't asked then I would have certainly offered - this wasn't a time when either of us were fit to be left alone.

"Thanks dude" She said, wiping her eyes on here sleeve as she had countless times that night.

"Well come on you two, Ive asked to be kept in the loop with Nathan's condition so I will keep you both informed" Leslie said, signalling for us to follow her.

*** I led Emily up to the apartment and opened the door. It might have just been the mood, or the events of the evening, but the place felt much colder than usual. I turned on the lights and went over to the storage closet to get some blankets. My friend entered behind me and began to frown.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked.

"I was gonna crash on the couch and let you have the bed" I explained with a sympathetic smile.

"Dude, you can't leave me"

"I'll be right here, like three feet from the bedroom"

"Nuh uh, come on" She grabbed me by the hand and took me to the bedroom "You're sleeping in sweatpants though - don't get any ideas"

"Ew, don't flatter yourself" I joked, taking off my shirt.

"Holy shit, what happened to your back"

There must have still been some bruising from where I'd been shot "Oh nothing, I fell down"

"You _fell down_? Whatever you say, I guess Melissa Daggett likes it rough" She joked. I'd forgotten all about Melissa and how I'd just left her at the restaurant all alone.

"She'll be playing rough next time she sees me that's for sure"

"Why's that?"

"I kinda wigged out on her tonight, we were on a date but I had a bit of a crisis"

"Dude, your friend is hurt"

"No, it was before that I..." I wasn't really sure _what_ I'd intended to use as an excuse but luckily Emily stopped me in my tracks.

"Look, we got bigger things to worry about - I'm sure she'll understand"

"I guess" I smiled "Aren't you getting ready for bed?"

"Not with the light on you perv"

"Oh right" I got up and turned out the light. I could see her silhouette standing up and undressing.

"Stop looking!" She shouted, throwing one of her shoes at me. It narrowly missed and hit the floor in front of me, prompting me to laugh mockingly.

"I was looking at the bed!" I insisted.

"Sure... Creeper"

I crawled under the sheets and got comfortable while Emily fiddled around taking off her jeans. She walked over to my closet "Is it cool if I borrow a Tee to sleep in?"

"Knock yourself out" I yawned.

She slipped on the T-shirt and climbed into my bed, I was facing away from her but I felt her arm slide over me as she snuggled close. She sighed and said "Thank you"

"For what?" I said, turning my head slightly in her direction.

"Being there tonight"

I turned over fully to face her "Well where else would I be?"

"I know, and I know you love Nate as much as I do it's just..." She gulped "I don't know if I'd have held it together if I didn't have you there"

"You going soft on me?" I joked.

She punched me lighly on the arm "I'm serious, you're the flakiest guy in the world but... You're a good friend and I guess with everything that's hapening I just want you to know I appreciate you"

"Thanks Em, I appreciate you too" I laughed.

"I'm trying to have a tender moment dude, don't laugh!"

"Sorry, I know" I put my arm around her and kissed her on the forehead "Come on then, let's go to sleep - we'll see Nate before you know it"


	20. Chapter 20

**It's Been Awhile**

 _Bang, bang, bang_. Was I under attack? I sat up in bed sharply, awoken by a loud noise. As my eyes and ears adjusted I realised it was a persistent knock at the door. Emily looked up at me, puzzled. "Are you gonna get that?" She yawned. I jumped up out of bed and made my way to the door.

At the other side of the door stood my disgruntled date, Melissa. Over the years, being a crime fighter, I had honed my senses to be ready for anything - but Melissa Daggett had obviously been trained to slap by the League of Assassins, because I did not have time to react to the almighty strike she laid across my cheek "Morning asshole" She spat venomously, barging in to my apartment.

"I can explain" I said, rubbing my cheek.

"I don't get you Grayson, you made all that effort to see me at the ball and tell me how you felt and then you just ditch me without a word" She shouted.

"Something..."

"Came up?" She snarled, I didn't know what to say "I thought so. Well thanks, _Dick_ " _Maybe I aught to start referring to myself as Richard..._

"Uhm, sorry to interrupt but..." Emily said as she emerged from the bedroom.

"You have got to be kidding me" Melissa laughed, her eyes piercing my skull.

"I..." I had literally never been as lost for words as I was in that moment. Melissa marched toward the apartment door.

"Wait!" Emily shouted.

"What!?" Melissa snapped.

"Look, this isn't what you think" Emily began "Dick left your date because of me"

"I gathered _that_ much" She turned to me and snarled "And _you_ told me there was nothing to worry about with you two."

"No, I called him and made him leave because..." Emily paused for a second "One of our best friends was shot at Arkham Asylum"

Melissa's face dropped, and the tension that had filled the air seemed to disperse almost instantly.

"And..." Emily continued "Dick let me stay here because I didn't want to be alone"

"I shouldn't have walked out like that" I stepped in "I'm sorry, Melissa"

"No... Well... Yeah, you should have probably said something but..." Melissa said "Look, I... I'm just going to go, you guys obviously need your space"

"No, stay... Please" I said, half-heartedly.

"My dad is waiting outside, I need to tell him what's happened - he wanted to hurt you... A lot"

"Oh..."

"Look, I'll go and speak to him... But we need to talk, Grayson. Call me when... When it's more appropriate" She smiled weakly and looked at Emily "I'm... Sorry about your friend"

And with that, she spun on her heel and stormed out of the apartment. Melissa was obviously still incredibly angry, but Emily had seriously saved my ass. Turning to thank her I was greeted with an expression of disapproval "You'd better tell her why you _actually_ left" she said.

"But I..." I started.

"Dude, you don't need to tell me. It's none of my business - but she deserves a real explanation"

I knew she was right, but I couldn't exactly tell Melissa the truth - I'd have to continue to use Nate's situation as an excuse... _What other choice did I have?_

*** The hospital looked much more inviting that afternoon when Emily and I arrived to meet Nate's mother. I held Emily's hand as we approached the front desk to see if we were allowed to visit our friend. Leslie hadn't called so we could only assume that nothing had gone wrong during the night. The receptionist confirmed my assumptions and explained that Nate was now in a stable condition and we were allowed to visit him.

Nate's mother was a short woman with dark hair that was greying at the roots, she wore large glasses that made her eyes appear much larger than they actually were. The glasses did nothing to hide the thick glaze of tears that hung over her eyes - that didn't stop her from greeting us with an enormous smile "Richard Grayson, my my it _has_ been a while" she said, wrapping her arms around me.

"Hey, Mrs D" I said with a smile.

"And Emily" Mrs D said, turning to Emily and hugging her tightly "It's so good to see you both"

"Good to see you too" Emily replied.

"Just a shame about the... Circumstances" Nate's mother said, turning to look at him on his bed. It seemed that all of her bravado and false happiness shattered when she looked at Nate's still body, it took a hard stare to even see that he was breathing, the portly woman fell back into the chair at his bedside and burst into tears.

Emily bolted to her side, kneeling down and holding her hand. "I'm sorry, you two" She sniffed "It's just... He's my baby... My baby boy, I can't lose him, I just can't!"

"You won't" Emily told her "Remember what the doctors said, he's way past the real danger now. He just needs to rest up and he'll be OK"

There were spare seats piled up in the corner of the room, I figured I'd be helpful and bring one over for Emily.

We sat with Nate and his mother for the rest of the day, swapping stories and reminiscing about the good old days. Mrs D regailed us with stories of Nate and his brother as children, pausing often to hold back her tears, it seemed that Emily and I being by her side was very comforting.

Finally, at seven o'clock that evening, the old woman fell asleep in the armchair at Nate's bedside. I pulled a balnket over her shoulders and placed her spectacles on the bedside table, she groaned but it didn't wake her.

"Will you be OK here for a while?" I asked Emily in a whisper.

"Sure dude" She replied.

"I shouldn't be too long" I said. Emily nodded approvingly and I tiptoed out of the room so as not to disturb Mrs D's slumber.

*** Jim Gordon's hospital room was a little trickier to infiltrate than Nate's. The door was guarded by two SWAT officers each with their own assault rifle, nevertheless I approached them trying to look as inconspicous as possible. My plan was to stroll past and try to get a gimpse inside, as Barbara hadn't returned any of my calls I only had Leslie's word that Gordon was doing OK.

It wasn't that I didn't believe Leslie, but after going through a trauma like he had, there was no telling how Gordon would react mentally. And the best way to tell would be to speak to his daughter. Of course, that's what I told myself. Really I just needed to see how Barbara was doing.

I peered casually over my shoulder while passing the guarded door, sure enough I could just see Barbara at the foot of Gordon's hospital bed, much to my relief she had a wide smile on her face and was clearly talking to her father. That was all I needed to see.

*** Coffee seemed to have been my crutch that day, I often found myself drained after a night of combat but there was something so much more energy-sapping about waiting around in the hospital. Maybe it was the place, or more likely it was the anxiety and uncertainty surrounding the whole situation, but I couldn't remember a time where I'd felt as reliant on caffeine to get me through.

The coffee machine on our floor was out of order, which meant I had to trek to the ground floor. I stood at the machine and poured myself, Emily and Mrs D a cup as I had several times already that day; placing them one-by-one into the cupholder. Mrs D probably wouldn't drink hers but it seemed impolite not to get her one.

Nate's room was exactly how I'd left it, he and his mother hadn't moved an inch. Emily on the other hand had slumped back in her chair, head tilted backwards with her mouth wide open. Before moving any further into the room I took out my phone and snapped a shot to show Nate when he finally came round. After seeing Barbara's smiling face I'd been given a welcome shot of optimism.

Emily snorted as I wafted her coffee under her nose. "Huh?" she murmered, opening her eyes slightly. I beamed down at her, holding out the steaming cup.

"Your low-fat crappucino with extra foam" I grinned.

"Thanks dude" She said, yawning.

"Did I miss anything?"

"Don't think so, Mrs D has been asleep since you left, I wasn't awake for long after"

"Right"

"Oh, a nurse did come by and check Nate's vitals - he said he was still in a stable condition"

"Well that's good" I said, now standing over Nate "He'd better come back to us soon."


	21. Chapter 21

**When The Tingle Becomes A Chill**

The week following the Arkham incident trudged by slowly. Aside from visiting the hospital with Emily and going to collect assignments from college, my social life had been reduced to a series of text messages. I hadn't seen Melissa since she had come to my apartment to confront me, but we had stayed in touch. I decided that I would make it up to her by hosting our second date at my apartment, that way I wouldn't have any reason to run away.

Barbara had sent me a message to say her father was going to be discharged at the end of the week as long as he showed no signs of the toxin in his system. I responded with an apology which twenty four hours later still hadn't been replied to - which meant she was obviously still mad.

For the timebeing, I had to put these things to the back of my mind. Bruce and I were in the Batmobile on our way to Arkham Asylum. The streetlights whooshed past the windows as we hurtled through the streets at an incredible speed.

"So, has Barb been in touch with you?" I asked, attempting to cease what I felt was an awkward silence.

" No" Batman replied coldly.

"Oh, well Jim is doing OK - should be out by-"

"I know" He interrupted.

"Of course you do..."

"How is your friend doing?"

"Uhm, he hasn't come round yet - but the doctors are hopeful"

"Good."

Before I knew it we were driving up the road that led to the Asylum, which was still heavily guarded on all sides by members of the GCPD. "Freeze isn't likely to tell us anything" Batman said "But he's the best lead we have"

*** Mr Freeze's cell had been custom-made to acommodate his condition. Our escort heaved open the large metal door, which still contained marks from the stray bullets that had hit it during the Arkham siege. The cell was reminiscent of a large refridgerator, like something you'd only find at a butcher's shop or a big restaurant. Victor Fries sat handcuffed to a chair in the centre of the room behind a desk, he looked quite scrawny without his suit on.

I pulled up another chair and sat across from Freeze, Batman stayed on his feet.

"Batman" Freeze said "It's about time"

Batman stood over him and glared down into his pale blue eyes.

"Why have you been working for the Scarecrow" Batman asked. Freeze's lip curled into what could almost be perceived as a smile.

"I don't work for anyone"

"You were helping him peddle his drugs, that's why he broke you out"

" _His_ drugs?" Freeze questioned, _was Scarecrow not leading this operation?_

"Yes"

"No" Freeze responded "I've simply been paid to _assist,_ but not by the Scarecrow"

"Then who?" I interjected.

"I never met the man himself" Freeze explained "Just one of his associates"

"Why should we believe you?" Batman asked.

"They didn't hold their end of the bargain"

"How so?" I questioned, my eyes now fixed on Freeze's in the hope that I could detect how truthful he was being.

"I'm in here" Freeze said, matter-of-factly "The deal was that I would be broken out"

"Wait, you intended on getting caught?"

"Yes" Freeze almost appeared to laugh mockingly as he said it.

Batman looked at me, his expression shifted under the mask for a brief second as if that explained why Freeze was so easily taken down by me. I couldn't help but feel slightly offended.

"That makes no sense..." I thought aloud.

"It was..." Freeze began, but Batman cut him off.

"A distraction" Batman said, coldly. It was just like Bruce to be ten steps ahead. All I could think was that my friend could have died, and others did die, _for a distraction_.

"Exactly" Freeze said, nodding his head "Right now, there is more Vertigo pumping through this city than any other in the country"

This fact didn't even seem to phase Batman, who continued with his somewhat casual investigation "What was in it for you?"

"One million dollars, for my research"

"What research?" I asked, gritting my teeth.

"Does it matter? I'm trapped in here now"

"Who did you meet?" Batman interrupted, again.

"A man, he wore a white suit, very striking - no names were involved"

"What did he tell you about his employer"

"Nothing, I got the impression he was more _partner_ than _employee_ "

"Partner?"

"I don't know, but he didn't come across as a man who took too many orders. He told me what I needed to know about the plan and gave me $250,000 as a down payment"

"So where does the Scarecrow fit in?" I asked.

"He oversees some of the production and before you ask, I've never seen him outside of the mask."

"We're done here" Batman said, turning toward the door before I could voice any further opinions. There was a brief second where I considered staying in the room with Freeze, and maybe giving him a few punches for Nate - but I held back the desire and followed Batman to the door.

Then it hit me like a punch to the gut.

"Wait" I began, Batman turned on his heel and scowled at me "You met a guy with a white suit?"

"Yes?" Freeze responded, puzzled.

"Short?"

"Yes"

"Old?"

"Fairly"

"Silver moustache?"

"Have you met this man?"

"Did his suit have a matching fedora?"

"It did"

" _Stan_..."

*** Bruce and I spent the next few hours in the Batcave, I explained the situation with Stan and how I'd unintentionally ruined Detective Yin's undercover operation. What followed was a large and time consuming scan of the GCPD criminal database.

"Got him" I said, finally.

Bruce leaned over my shoulder and peered at the screen "Stanley Elrod"

"Yep, and aside from a few minor infractions as a kid, he's totally clean"

"He's been paying someone off"

"I think that was Yin's theory"

"Cross reference his name with articles in the Gazette, see if he's ever been _suspected_ of anything"

I typed his command into the system, results filled the screen in a flood "Holy shit"

"Indeed" He pointed "Zoom in on that one, this was only weeks ago"

"Wait, they covered his arrest?"

"Suspicion of kidnapping and murder"

"And they printed that?"

"Yes, but if his record is clean, that means he's been released since this article was written - so whoever he had to pay..."

"Has already been paid off"

"Exactly"

"His people work fast"

"Indeed, you should get home"

"What?"

"You need to rest up"

"Rest up? We have to go after this guy"

"I agree"

"But?"

"But, he's our path to Scarecrow - we need to approach this carefully"

"Are you saying I'm not careful"

"I'm saying you've probably slept less than I have this week..."

"Doubtful..."

"Go, rest up, I'll speak to some of my contacts and get a better profile on this guy"

I hoped he could feel the contemptuous look in my eyes burning into the side of his head.

"I will contact you, when I need you"

"Fine."

*** Dawn was breaking on the horizon by the time I left the cave, I rode out on my civilian-cycle towards the city centre. Habitually, and partly due to my annoyance at Bruce, I decided to pass through every rough neighbourhood I could think of on the way home.

Bleake Island was the last stop on my list, I pulled up outside the Stromwell building and stared up to the top. The incomplete floors up at the very top reminded me of Clancy Wolfman. Sure, he wasn't a great human being, but he was used, abused and disposed of like a dirty tissue - and I wasn't comfortable with that.

"Bad night to be out on your own, buddy" A voice called out. I looked around, a scruffy looking man emerged from an alleyway across the street followed by three other similarly-dressed men. I laughed loudly and hopped off the bike. The visor of my helmet was tinted so there was no way I was going to be recognised.

"Just give us your wallet, phone and the keys to your bike" The man said calmly, pulling out a knife from his worn jeans "and I won't have to cut you up"

I opened my mouth to speak but found that before the words left my mouth I was being spoken for.

"Leave him alone!" Shouted a voice from up high. All of a sudden, a figure shot down the fire escape nearest the group of men. Landing on the edge of an open dumpster, the mysterious caped-crusader sprung into kick which landed with a tremendous crack on the side of one of the goons' heads. The villain spun on the spot and clattered into a squirming heap on the ground.

Coming into view, I was horrified to see Spoiler bounce backwards and land on her ass. I ran over with the intention of helping, but the girl quickly sprung to her feet and held up her hand in protest "Stay back!" She shouted. Out of some wild curiosity to see what her next move was going to be, I stopped in my tracks.

Her fighting style was rough, but it resembled my own in the strangest kind of way. It was clear that she'd learned to fight on the street, throwing punches and defending like a graceless UFC fighter. Height didn't appear to be on her side against this set of hoodlums, but she turned the disadvantage into a skillful advantage - driving the first of her opponents into the ground with a series of brutal uppercuts that knocked him off balance.

The knifeman flanked behind her, and as I stepped forward it was all of a sudden like I was watching a shorter female version of myself. Her leg swept under him in an uncharacteristically fluid rotation that knocked him sideways on to the floor, following with a kick to his hand which sent the knife hurtling through the air.

The third man made an attempt to get back to his feet, an attempt which was met with two feet planting into the centre of his back, smashing his face into the concrete.

The three would-be-muggers were sprawled on the ground in various states of shock and pain.

"Are you alright?" Spoiler asked me.

"Yeah, they didn't get near me" I said "Thanks to you that is"

"Don't mention it - I'm here to help, sir!" She shouted energetically, which made a change from her usual attitude. Part of me wanted to laugh at how cheesy that seemed, but I couldn't bring myself to take away from her moment of triumph. At least not right away.

"You should get back on your bike and go home" She commanded.

"Will do!" I responded.

The girl paused, as if for a moment she thought she had recognised my voice. But with a shake of the head, she disappeared into the darkness of the alleyway.

I waited for her to be completely out of view before I walked toward the three men on the ground, I picked up the knife which lay a few metres from them. They were rolling around clutching their various injuries like soccer players waiting for the referee to call out a foul as I stood over them with the blade.

"Please, don't kill us, you don't need to kill us!" Their leader shouted. I tilted my head, smirking under the visor of my helmet. I allowed the man to stew for a few seconds under my gaze, his eyes darting between my helmet and the blade, before I threw the knife into the nearby dumpster.

"She'll be watching you" I told them "So you'd better be model citizens from here on out"

*** Thinking about Spoiler's actions that night, I was an odd mixture of concerned and proud. On the one hand, she hadn't taken on board what I'd said about putting herself in danger. But on the other hand, she had seriously kicked some ass - and she hadn't needed my help at all.

The thoughts of Spoiler and my contemplation of what Freeze had revealed to us kept me awake for most of the hours I'd planned to be resting. And when I'd finally gotten to sleep it was completely light outside.

At what felt like the instant my head had hit the pillow - I was awake again. My eyes were sore and heavy, the room coming into focus very slowly. I caught sight of my dishevelled hair in the reflection of my alarm clock, I wasn't a particularly vain person but I could not go out looking like I did.

I looked over at my phone, intending it to only be a brief glance, to see I had several text messages. The first two were from Emily, I braced myself for some update on Nate's condition. The first read:

 _Emily: I take it you slept in? No worries I covered for you with Crane, will drop by later with my notes._

This was good, I could think of worse things than missing class. The second read:

 _Emily: Oh and they wrote a story about Nate in the Gazette, I'll bring that over too! See you at like 3 :)_

That message also seemed fairly positive, that meant the article couldn't have been written by Gerty. The third message was from Melissa, surely this was going to be bad:

 _Melissa: Hey Grayson, hope you're doing OK, looking forward to seeing you tonight but if you have to cancel just let me know. Understand things are a little tough right now - Melissa x_

Three out of three, it seemed like bad hair was going to be the worst thing I had to contend with that day.

*** A hot soapy shower took care of my overall scruffiness, and I almost looked like a normal functioning member of society by the time Emily arrived to drop off her class notes. I rifled through them and skimmed the handwritten scribbles as quickly as my drained eyes would allow. Emily was sat cross-legged in front of my TV flicking through my dusty collection of vinyls which hadn't even been touched since my days at Wayne Manor.

"Dude, don't you have anything upbeat?" She said, holding up a 'Smiths' album.

"And what's wrong with the Smiths?" I responded looking up from Emily's frantic scribbles.

"Nothing, I was just looking for something a little more cheery"

"I'm sure the Bee Gees are in there somewhere" I said, squinting back at her notes "Y'know, your handwriting it pretty bad"

"Crane was talking stupidly fast, he let us leave like half an hour early, it was totally bizarre" Emily explained.

"Really?"

"Yeah, the dude was being super weird... Not that it was a bad thing" Emily laughed "Apparently he ducked out twice while we were out of class last week too"

"Weird, maybe he missed us"

"Probably, Bee Gees it is then I guess" She said, defeated "You should really get some new music" And she started toward the record player which she'd set up on the desk by the door.

"I have an iPod, you are aware of that right?" I said, stopping her in her tracks. I could only see the back of her head but I knew for a fact that she was rolling her eyes. Next thing I knew, 'Stayin' Alive' was blasting out of the player and Emily was dancing around distractingly in front of me.

"I'm trying to read..." I said through unconvincing gritted teeth.

"Fine" Emily huffed, continuing to dance "Be a loser, dude, I don't care"

Refusing to rise to her taunts I continued to read the second page of notes, though not making any progress as the noise was making it difficult to concentrate. Emily started to shuffle around the sofa and clap to the tune, whispering "loser" in my ear everytime she passed behind me. In spite of the fact I'd just read the same sentence seventeen times in a row I wasn't going to react.

Finally, Emily dropped down into the seat next to me and punched me lightly on the arm "Dancing is a great release you know, you should try it" she told me.

"I will most definitely be dancing when you leave" I joked.

"Asshole" I laughed again and she shoved me jokingly "I do have to go though"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna take Nate's mom a change of clothes"

"Again?"

"Yeah she's still refusing to go home until he wakes up"

"At least Leslie had that bed brought in for her. You sure you don't need me to come with you?"

"No, you take the night off - you have your _big date_ anyway dude"

"Alright but call me if anything happens"

"I will, I will" She said, getting to her feet "And don't forget to start cooking before Melissa gets here, you don't wanna mess up _two_ dates"

"Don't worry, I'll get this one right"

She ruffled my hair and walked to the door "Don't be too sure dude, it is _you_ after all"

"Yeah, yeah - I'll see you tomorrow"

"Later, loser!" Emily said as she left, closing the apartment door behind her. I slumped backwards to lie down on the sofa and flicked on the TV. The decision to rest my eyes wasn't entirely my own as I felt I'd been overcome by my need to get back to sleep.

*** A bright light burned through my eyelids, arms instinctively flinching to cover them I groaned "What the..." as the room around me came back into focus, it was clearly a lot later than when Emily had left. And I _definitely_ hadn't started cooking. I also hadn't turned on the light.

"I let myself in" Came a familiar voice from near the door. I sat up sharply to see Melissa standing there, she was more casually dressed than usual, in a shirt and jeans. A speck of light still flashing in my vision almost covered her face. She turned towards the dark kitchen "So what's for dinner?" she said, severely.

It wasn't until she came closer that I could see that she was smiling, it definitely suited her "Hi" I said pathetically.

"Hi" She laughed "You look great" her eyes particularly focussing on the sweatpants I was wearing. She walked over to my bedroom and switched on the light, throwing her coat on to the bed.

"Yeah, I kind of... Fell asleep" I explained.

"Oh really? That's not like you"

"I swear, one of these days I will actually be awake when you get here" I shuffled around and made room for her on the sofa next to me. I thought for certain she'd be about to leave, but again I was surprised when she took a seat - still smiling.

"Pizza?" She suggested.

"Sure, you like pepperoni right"

"You'd actually know that if you'd stayed at the restaurant on our _last_ date"

"Is that a _yes_?" I said, side-stepping the comment.

"Who doesn't like pepperoni?"

I took that as a yes and started to order the pizza using a nifty app on my phone.

"So" I began "How was your day?"

"It was OK, dad wasn't too pleased when he heard where I was going - he rambled something about you being rude and insolent?" She said, giving me a stern but humourous look.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you I met your _charming_ father"

"Lucky my future stepmom holds you in such high regard"

"I'm sorry what?" I responded, puzzled.

"She says she knows you _very_ well"

"Who are you talking about?"

"Don't tell me you didn't know?"

"Know what?!"

"My dad is marrying Silver St. Cloud of course, it's been in the papers a few times"

"Bruce's ex-fiancee Silver?"

"Yup"

"Is marrying _your_ father"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh nothing, charming guy like I said" We looked each other in the eyes for a second, and laughed in unison.

"You will have to learn to get along with him eventually, Grayson"

"Why's that?"

"Well my boyfriend and my father are likely to cross paths at some point" Her cheeks flushed almost immediately as she finished the sentence.

"Boyfriend?" I said, my mouth curving into a smirk.

"Oh shut up, I was clearly joking"

"No you weren't" I laughed "Did you think I was your boyfriend?" I said teasingly.

She gasped "What do you mean I thought?"

"I was just having a bit of fun" I said, attempting to sound faux-serious "Sorry if you had already planned the wedding"

"You're a dick, Grayson" She huffed, folding her arms and looking away.

" _That's_ my name" I smiled.

She turned immediately back around and began to slap at my playfully with both hands, I grabbed her gently by the wrists and continued to taunt her "That is so mean, why would want to slap your _boyfriend_?"

"Shut up!" She pushed me on to my back and began prodding me, presumably to find a tickleish spot.

"Not tickleish, sorry!" I laughed, sitting back up.

"You are supremely annoying" She said, pushing me back down again. This time she lunged on top of me and put her face right in front of mine. I wasn't going to wait for any further signals, I don't think I could have if I'd wanted to.

I leaned up ever-so-slightly and kissed her bottom lip before dropping back down and grinning at her with what I'd like to call 'boyish charm', though Barbara used to call it my 'dick-face'. I'm not sure if she was making a reference to my name or to the other thing... Knowing her it was probably both.

Melissa gazed at me for a second and said "You are _so_ my boyfriend" moving in for another kiss. It briefly occured to me that things were going far too well, I took a brief scan to my left to make sure this wasn't some kind of trap, before caressing her hips and engaging in another kiss.

We made out with no interruption for a while, until finally we came up for air. Melissa was still beaming at me adoringly.

A knock at the door followed shortly after, signalling the arrival of a much-needed pepperoni pizza. I collected some plates from the kitchen "Here you go" I said, laying the plates down on the coffee table.

"Where's the knives and forks?" She asked.

"Excuse me?" I responded, dumbfounded by the thought "You eat takeout pizza with a knife and fork?"

"I'm not an animal Grayson, of course I do"

"Well, my ladyship, I will go and get them for you"

"Thank you"

I stopped for a second "I'm still allowed to eat it with my hands, right?"

She said nothing, and simply rolled her eyes. Regardless of what she actually meant, I took it as a yes.

The movie Melissa had chosen to watch was actually better than I'd expected, considering that she'd previously made me watch 'Real Housewives', although I was a little fuzzy on a few plot points due to all the make out intervals we'd had.

By the time the credits rolled, the movie had faded into the background and Melissa was on top of me again, this time kissing my neck. I glanced at the clock hanging above my TV "Holy shit" I said, sitting up gently, stopping Melissa for a second "Didn't your dad say you had to be home?"

"Yeah" She said, standing up " Could you get my coat?"

"Sure"

I walked over to the bedroom and grabbed the coat. When I turned around I was surprised to see Melissa standing in the doorway, her shirt was now completely unbuttoned and open. She laughed "I text my dad like an hour ago, told him I'd be staying here... If that's OK?"

"You sure he won't be sending his personal security to come and kill me?"

"I can't make any promises"

I shrugged my shoulders dismissively "Meh, it's probably worth it"

"Probably?"

The bedroom door creaked slightly as Melissa closed it behind her. Sliding her shirt off her shoulders, she pushed me back on to the bed and gave a devilish smile as she slinked over to the light switch.

 _Click._


	22. Chapter 22

**The Boys Are Back In Town**

"So how do you know Dick?"

"Me and Dick go way back!"

"Oh really, old school friends?"

"Kinda, briefly, I guess - I was never particularly academic..."

"And I take it you usually break into your friends' homes and cook yourself eggs at six in the morning then?"

"Well I didn't know Dick had company, attractive company if you don't mind my saying so"

"I _do_ mind, clearly"

"Yeah, you can put the bat down anytime y'know"

I looked over to my right and realised Melissa wasn't there, and my bedroom door was slightly ajar - the voices weren't a dream, someone was in my apartment.

I slid silently out of the bed and on to the floor. I thought for a second about pulling out one my hidden batarangs, but realised that I could probably avoid revealing my secret to Melissa if this was a run of the mill criminal.

I brandished my alarm clock instead and crept to the door. Holding the door tightly to minimise creaking I listened for further voices, I heard a mumble from the edge of the kitchen and then distinctly heard Melissa speaking, edging closer to the phone by the TV.

My moment to shine was at hand, I lunged around the door, launching the alarm clock at the head of the would-be intruder and raised my fists.

"Shit!" He shouted as he narrowly dodged the clock with stunning reflexes that were comparable to my own. The dark haired man titled his head and brushed a piece of alarm clock off the shoulder of his red hoodie, he tilted his head and his eyes widened "Is that how you greet your buddies now?"

"Roy?" I said, shocked. Roy Harper (aka Speedy, Arsenal, Red Arrow and probably some other names too) was an old friend from my days in the Titans, he specialised in marksmanship with a bow and arrow - and causing mischief wherever possible.

"I hope the clock wasn't expensive" He laughed.

"It was worth it to see the look on your face"

"You're getting paranoid in your old age, man"

" _Old age_ , screw you Harper"

"Get over here" He laughed again raising his arms for a very 'bro-ish' hug. I obliged and gave him a somewhat manly hug.

"Is someone going to explain what the hell is going on here?" Melissa interjected, she was stood by the TV wearing only my long T-shirt grasping my baseball bat - I had forgotten she was even there for a second.

"Oh, uhm, Melissa meet Roy - he's an old buddy" I explained.

"Hi" Roy said.

"And Roy, this is my..." I paused for a second "My girlfriend, Melissa"

Roy raised his eyebrows "Nice" he chuckled approvingly, much to Melissa's chagrin.

Melissa scowled "Old friend or not, you should have knocked"

"I was making you breakfast in bed!" Roy exclaimed, pretending to be insulted.

I looked over at the front door "You didn't break the lock" I said "Nice"

"I'm getting pretty good, I know!" Roy said, smuggly "Now who wants some eggs?"

*** Melissa's mood improved once Roy handed her a plate with poached eggs and toast on it. I sat with her on the sofa watching early morning TV until Roy signalled me over to the kitchen with a casual movement of his head.

"So" He whispered under his breath as he cracked another egg "Does she know?"

"No" I replied, quietly.

"Shit, you should really go zip my bag up" He gestured towards a red gym bag that was sitting by the front door, with a quiver of arrows sticking out of it.

"How you've kept your identity a secret all these years I will never know" I said, rolling my eyes.

Casually as I could, I strolled over to the bag and picked it up. Melissa smiled at me as I took it took over to the bedroom. I took a peek inside and sure enough, under the arrow quiver, there was a folded up bow and a red leather hooded costume complete with kevlar padding and a matching eye mask; barely hidden under a change of civilian clothes, some condoms and a few cans of Red Bull.

"Am I cool to crash here for a few nights?" Called Roy.

"Sure, I gotta visit the hospital tonight though so I'll have to leave you a key"

"Hospital, everything cool?"

I explained in detail what had happened to Nate. Nate and Roy had never crossed paths during Roy's brief tenure at my high school - he had met Emily whom he had continually tried to hit on, to no avail. Emily didn't _hate_ Roy, but she wasn't exactly a fan either.

"Man, that sucks - hope he pulls through" Roy said.

"He's tough, and I think he's through the worst of it - he just needs to wake up now"

"Cool, well just shout when you need to go and I'll drive you down there"

"Thanks" I said, looking at him suspisciously.

"I'm gonna go and have a shower" Melissa said "My dad is picking me up for lunch in a couple of hours"

"Alright" I smiled "I'll grab you a towel"

I escorted her to the bedroom and pulled a towel from the top shelf of my closet. I handed the towel over and kissed her on the cheek "Don't let him talk you into anything stupid" She said, warningly.

"Who, Roy?"

" _No_ your other friend that broke into your apartment" She replied sarcastically.

"Trust me, he's not as bad as he seems"

*** Big Belly Burger wouldn't have been my first choice for lunch, but Roy insisted that he needed the 'protein'. We took a window seat at the far end of the place so that we could have a more private conversation. I watched Roy stuff his face with fries for a few minutes before cutting to the chase "Not that I'm not happy to see you..." I began "But now Melissa is gone, can you tell me why you're really here?"

"Oliver asked me to come" He mumbled through a mouthful of food.

"Oliver Queen?"

"Who else?"

"What does he want you to do in Gotham?"

"Word on the street is that Vertigo is all over this city now"

"Yeah, but it doesn't look like it's got anything to do with the Count"

"That's what I thought too, but Oliver wanted me to check it out anyway"

"Couldn't hurt to have you around for a few days I guess, Batman and I are in the middle of a pretty big investigation"

"Yeah, like that guy's gonna let _me_ help"

"Oh god no, he despises you - but you can watch my back when he's not around"

"Just like the good old days"

"Do you _remember_ the good old days?"

"Sure, we fought Slade Wilson a whole bunch, we had a great team, you were dating an alien space cat... Good times!"

"A great team? I thought you hated it in the Titans?"

"Hated it? Are you crazy?"

"You and Wally fought _all_ the time, and you left?"

"Alright, Wally was a dick head, but I only left because I had to - and you didn't stay much longer than I did"

"Fair enough"

"You still in touch with anybody?"

"We all email, but we don't really meet up or anything at the moment - you?"

"Not really, I've been pretty under the radar"

"Yeah, what's that about?"

"I can't talk about it right now, top secret shit"

"Our entire lives are _top secret shit_ "

"Even so, I gotta keep it zipped"

"Hmm" I paused for a moment "And Kory isn't an _alien space cat,_ she's a Tamaranean"

"Whatever, she still dumped your ass"

*** As he'd promised, Roy not only dropped me at the hospital, but he picked me up afterward too. Emily was less than happy to see him, but didn't decline his offer of a ride home. Nate's condition hadn't changed but his mother was in good spirits, especially after receiving a few slices of Alfred's Apple Crumble.

"Later dude" Emily said, stepping out of Roy's car "Uhm, thanks for the ride"

"No problem!" Roy smiled "Maybe I could get your number as a thank you?"

Emily didn't respond, smiling at me weakly before turning around and heading inside. Roy and I sped away after seeing her close the front door behind her.

"So you've never...?" Roy asked.

"Never what?" I said.

"Y'know..." He gestured with his eyes "With Emily?"

"No!" I responded "We're just friends"

"She's kinda hot though, in a geeky sorta way"

"Can we change the subject?"

"Sure we can, what are your plans for the evening?"

"Actually I have somewhere to be"

"Sounds exciting, can I come?"

"Not tonight"

"Why not? Is this part of your _BIG investigation_?"

"No, I'm meeting someone and I don't want her getting spooked by you"

"You're meeting a girl? My, my - Dick Grayson straying away from the Mrs after only one night of wedded bliss?"

"It's nothing like that actually"

"What then?"

"I'm training someone"

"Wait, you have a sidekick?!"

"I caught her running on the rooftops a couple times, she was insistent on training to be 'one of us', so I was going to find out her identity and put her off the idea"

"But?"

"But then she saved my life... Kind of"

"So now you're training her?"

"Yeah, kinda"

"And what's the problem with her meeting me?"

"You're a bad influence"

"I _am_ not"

*** Spoiler wasn't at her usual spot. I instead found her a few blocks away near the Stromwell Building, stalking fire escapes and looking for trouble. Her senses appeared to be more tuned than they had been at first and she'd been doing a lot of practicing jumping and climbing, her movements were growing more fluid.

That didn't mean she didn't have a lot to learn, I still managed to sneak up on her without much difficulty.

"Bird watching?" I asked her, revealing myself from the shadows.

"Yeah, I saw a really cool pidgeon right over there" She replied sharply, acting as though I hadn't surprised her.

"You ever been up there" I asked, pointing at the top of the unfinished Stromwell Building.

"No, you're not gonna make me climb it are you?"

"I can't _make_ you do anything"

She sighed "Come on then, let's climb it"

Following my lead, Spoiler impressively scaled the large building without fear or much need of my assistance - not that I would ever admit it but she seemed to be learning almost as quickly as I had back in the day, and without my background in the circus... Not that I knew of anyway.

I stayed close as she zipped from ledge to ledge, watching her footing closely in case I had to catch her. Thankfully she made it to the first unfinished floor at the top of the building without a single slip-up.

"I'm getting good, right?" She said excitedly.

"Don't get cocky..." I said, her head sank slightly "But yeah, pretty good"

Her head raised again, I couldn't tell for sure but it looked as though she might be smiling under the mask.

"Where to now?" She asked, I responded by pointing up to the metal girders and that reached further into the sky. Without prompting she fired a zip line up to the highest beam and whizzed out of sight. I followed swiftly, landing on the beam next to her.

Fumbling slightly, she spread her arms to stay on balance "Woah" she said.

"You alright?" I asked.

"Sure, just had a wobble"

"Be careful, if we were fighting up here that wobble could cost you your life"

"I know, I know"

"See down there" I said, pointing to the street below.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"You beat up some muggers down there the other day, didn't you?"

"Holy shit, you were watching me?"

"Yep"

"Hang on, were you the guy on the bike?"

"Yep"

"No way! Why didn't you help me out? I _knew_ I recognised your voice"

" _You_ told me not to, and to be fair you looked like you had it handled"

"Yup, I kicked their asses" she said, triumphantly pumping her fist.

"Was that the first time you've done something like that?" I asked, _I didn't want her thinking I approved of what she'd been doing_.

"Uhm" She paused for a second "No... Look I know you told me not to but I..."

"You did well against those guys, I won't deny that" I explained "But that could have gone down a lot differently if one of them had a gun"

"I'm sorry, OK?"

"I need you to promise me you won't go looking for trouble on your own like that anymore"

"I will" She said "But only if you train me..."

"I am trai-"

" _Regularly_ " She interupted "Not this, turning up at random to lecture me crap"

"Alright, deal"

Spoiler didn't respond to me immediately, she must have been expecting that I'd say no. But I knew there was no stopping her, she wanted to fight crime for some reason and if I didn't help she'd probably end up dead. It helped that she was actually pretty capable of learning what I was trying to teach her.

"How are you gonna get in touch with me?" She asked.

"Aren't you on Super Facebook?"

"Huh? Super Facebook?"

"Yeah, it's like a special Facebook for people like us to keep in touch"

She seemed to contemplate the idea for a second and then turned her head to me again "Do you enjoy being a giant douche?"

"I don't _not_ enjoy it?"

"Seriously though, do I get like a bat-phone or something?"

"No, I'll work something out, we'll meet at your usual spot this time next week"

"Cool."

*** Roy was passed out on the sofa when I emerged from the loft hideout after my meeting with Spoiler. He was still fully clothed with the TV blasting at full volume, and he'd clearly ordered take out - evidenced by the empty pizza box and the crusts that littered the surrounding floor.

There was a part of me that wanted to wake him and complain, but it was time for bed - or so I thought. My phone suddenly began to vibrate frantically in my pocket.

The screen lit up 'unknown', I answered cautiously "Hello?"

"Nightwing, it's me" Came Bruce's voice "I've got a location on Stan's club, meet me at the location I'm sending through to your phone - you have thirty minutes or I'm going in alone"

 _So much for sleep._


	23. Chapter 23

**One Piece at a Time**

Batman was perched menacingly on a gargoyle atop the corner of a low-down apartment building. I approached him from a rooftop across the way which was level with his. Batman raised his hand to signal me to stop, then moved his fingers to his eyes and followed with a point towards the street below.

A white limousine slowly traversed the narrow street and came to a stop outside a building at the far end. As soon as the vehicle halted, Bruce gestured toward it with his finger, I knew this as a signal to move. Staying on my own side of the street I moved along the rooftops with supreme stealth. Batman did the same, only faster.

As I'd suspected, Stan emerged from the back of the car, his face a perfect picture of smugness. I could feel the urge to attack him rising, but I naturally knew better. His bodyguard, not the same on as before, led him to the door of a fairly un-suspicious building which looked to be in need of some renovation and knocked at the door.

A worryingly slim man with a distinct lack of hair opened the door and greeted Stan with a courteous bow before allowing him entry. From what I could see of the interior, the building was lavishly decorated - this contrasted heavily with the outside of the building which in comparison seemed rather run down.

When the door closed, the limousine drove off turning left at the end of the street and disappearing between two buildings. On another signal from Batman, I zip lined over the street to the roof of the building Stan had entered.

"You're late" Batman said.

"You said thirty minutes!" I replied.

"And you arrived in thirty-five"

"Sorry, it's not as though we missed anything"

"If you want to be kept in the loop, do better"

"Geez, you wonder why I moved out?"

Batman didn't respond, he instead moved toward the roof entrance of the building. His hand reached down to his utility belt and removed a small gadget which looked about the size of a pen lid. With a click, the device extended in length and Batman proceeded to slide it under the door.

"New tech?" I asked with genuine curiosity.

"Snake cam" He replied.

"Cool, didn't we already have those?"

"The old one was cumbersome, this fits on the belt better"

"Can I have one?"

"No." Before I could say another word, Batman said "It's clear, lets move in"

I pulled out my lockpick, only to be stopped by Batman's raised hand. For a split second he appeared to smile as he pulled out his much newer, more slim-lined lockpick.

"Let me guess, the old one was cumbersome?"

"No, this one is just better" He said "And no, you can't have one"

*** The roof door led into the attic floor of the building, which aside from dust and cobwebs was completely empty. Slowly and crouched we moved across the creaking wooden floor, carefully avoiding the glaring cracks where the light flooded through from the rooms below.

A murmuring below caught my attention.

"... That's not on the menu, Jimmy" A woman's voice said, giggling. I peered through a crack to see a blonde woman who looked to be in her late thirties wearing nothing but a thong, clearly one of Stan's girls. A slick-haired brunette man ogled her with his tongue wagging and his arm outstretched.

"Come on, don't make me call Stan, baby!" The man seemed to joke, but the response on the woman's face was far from a laugh - she seemed to wince at the mention of her employer's name.

"Jim Corrigan" Batman whispered, breaking my attention away "He's GCPD"

"Corrupt piece of - " I began.

"We have bigger problems, let's move"

"Seriously?"

"You really want to lose the opportunity to bust Stan to stop what's going on in that room?"

"I want to do both"

"If we bring Stan in, we can tie him to everyone in this building, the house of cards will fall down right on top of lowlifes like Corrigan"

As much as I wanted to pull back the ceiling and break Corrigan's face, I knew Bruce was right - getting Stan was in everyone's best interests.

I reluctantly pulled myself from the view of the below room and moved across to the far end of the attic floor where the staircase was which led to the lower floors.

Batman leaned over the staircase and extended the snake cam "Corridor is clear, switching to thermal" He said.

After a moment or two of peering down the corridor from above, Batman resurfaced "It looks like Stan is in a room at the far end of the corridor on the right hand side"

"What's our move?" I asked.

"From what I can tell about the layout, there's a room next to the one he's in that's unoccupied"

"Want me to scout ahead?"

"Sure"

Slightly surprised at actually being allowed to do something, I proceeded quickly down the stairs and bolted to the door of the second-to-last room on the right. The handle of the door behind me clicked and I heard the distinct rasp of Corrigan's voice. I had to act fast. I'm not sure why I was surprised, but the door I'd come to was locked shut and I had about four seconds to unlock it with my _inferior_ lockpick.

Corrigan's door creaked open behind me as I frantically scrambled to ease the lock open. It was as if we were all moving in slow motion as the policeman swung the door completely open, his attention still fixed on the blonde who was now redressing on the bed.

The woman's eyes made direct contact with my own, but instead of screaming with shock she called out "Wait, Jimmy, do you have to go?" and reached for his hand. Her distraction bought me enough time to throw myself into the unoccupied room.

I'd landed into what looked like Christian Grey's store cupboard. The walls were laden with various _punishment instruments_ and other odd sexual contraptions. But what really stood out was the pungent fragrance that all of a sudden assaulted my nostrils. The smell wasn't exactly overpowering, but it wasn't pleasant either - like meat that had just started to go bad.

It seemed to be drifting from cracks in the wall, barely visible under the peeling wallpaper. A wall which just so happened to back on to Stan's office. I pressed my ear to the wall in the hopes of hearing something.

"Look, I'll take care of it" Came Stan's voice.

"You said this the last time I visited" Sounded another voice, lower and more menacing than Stan's "And since then, what have you achieved?"

"I..."

"You have succeeded in drawing unwanted attention to yourself and, by extension, us"

"It ain't as though I've never been in the papers before" Stan chuckled.

"Do you think this is funny?" The voice replied "This detective, Yin, will not stop - nor will her vigilante friend"

"Why do you care? You guys have taken out bigger fish than this bitch"

"You are correct. But, frankly, we are sick of cleaning up your mess"

"I thought this ring _guaranteed_ my protection?"

"There are _no_ guarantees, we allow you the benefits of our organisation in exchange for your services"

"And what do you think this place is?!"

"A palace for you to flex your ego?" The voice responded with a fleck of amusement, which passed instantly "It certainly isn't a benefit to the order"

"Screw you, I've been making donations for as long as I can frickin remember"

"This is Gotham, there is a brothel on every other corner. Your donations that have gotten smaller, and smaller - while you've gotten louder and louder"

"Money's tight" Stan mumbled, almost so that I couldn't hear "I introduced you to that freak in the mask, and the fat man - that's gotta count for something!"

"They are the only reason you are still breathing"

"Are you threatening me?" Stan quivered.

"We have _taken out bigger fish_ "

"Look, I'll make sure the cop stops sniffing"

"Good"

"The bat-boy might be a little harder to silence"

"You'll find a way, or we will. And trust me, that will not end well for you"

I leaned slightly closer into the wall as their voices seemed to be growing quieter. A board under my foot responded to my movements with a creak that may have been inaudible to normal ears. As it turned out, Stan's house guest didn't fall into that spectrum.

The blade flashed through the wall like a lightning strike landing inches from the tip of my nose. My reactions being what they are I leaped backwards completely on instinct and landed with my escrima sticks unsheathed.

My opponent tore the wall between us to pieces with a few simple strikes to reveal himself standing alongside the ageing pimp. The sword-wielding assassin was hooded and garbed in a black costume adorned with grey feathers. His mask slightly resembled a bird with large golden eyes, eyes that were moving towards me with incredible speed.

The assassin's blade fell directly in line with my head, easily blocked by my crossed escrima sticks.

"Kill him!" Stan shouted, pulling a revolver from a hostler concealed in his jacket.

The assassin did not respond or relent his aggressive flurry of swipes. My counterattack landed perfectly on the attackers wrist causing him to stumble forwards. Parrying to his right, I followed with a kick to his side which sent him flying straight through the brittle door and into the corridor.

Stan had taken the opportunity to raise his weapon, aiming at my head and pulling the trigger quicker than I thought he was able to... But not quick enough. My batarang pierced his hand causing the gun to fly upwards and the old man to fall down.

My attention immediately turned back to the feathered assassin, who had risen to his feet again. Without giving the man a breath I jumped feet-first into a kick which landed square on his chest and threw him backwards once more.

"Those fish mustn't have been as big as you thought" I shouted triumphantly "I was expecting better!"

"Funny" He responded, getting to his feet again "So was I"

His sword dropped and he revealed two handfuls of throwing knives launching them one after the other in my direction.

I blocked the first, and the second pinged straight off the emblem of my suit. Sadly the third pierced my shoulder slightly and threw me off balance - allowing the fourth and fifth to hit my stomach in quick succession.

The blades were small and had only tipped the surface of my skin, so they were easy to pull out. Nevertheless, the assassin began walking towards me and laughing victoriously. It became obvious as he got closer that the stench I had smelled previously was the assassin himself. It also became obvious that I couldn't move, not through paralysis, but through fear.

The man before me had transformed into an enormous black bird with eyes of fire.

The bird screeched incoherently and loomed over me, its wings enclosing me like walls of incoming darkness. Faces began to appear before me; Melissa, Roy, Emily... A swirl of laughing faces... Nate, Barbara, Spoiler... Jason, Bruce and then it stopped, and there was only one face - my own.

Or at least, a close approximation - this version of myself looked like a corpse that had been reanimated, and the smell of death that accompanied the laughing visage was overpowering to say the very least.

I tried to look away, tried to run, to move - but nothing was working.

The face once again became a bird, which shrieked loudly and poised itself to attack with its mighty beak. Somehow I managed to flail my arms in front of my face and deflect the first peck, which seemed not to have even made contact with me.

A beacon of light cascaded down from behind the bird and suddenly it was not the biggest creature in the room. The giant bat swooped down and caught the bird in its mouth, dragging it into the sky.

That was the last thing I remembered, before I was swallowed by darkness.


	24. Chapter 24

**Like Knives**

"The bird!" I shouted as I sat up from the cold table. My vision flickered back into focus with a number of frantic blinks - I was in the Batcave.

"There is no bird" Bruce responded, throwing me a towel presumably for the sweat all over my face "Those knives were tipped with a version of the fear toxin"

"Shit, again?"

"Yep" Came Barbara's voice from behind me "You gotta quit it with those experimental drugs"

"Barb" I said with a smile of relief, then turned my attention back to Bruce "How long was I out?"

"Couple hours" She replied.

"So the drug just amplified what was already around me? The bird was..."

"The assassin" Bruce confirmed "He was wearing an Owl mask"

"Did you get him?"

"No, he got away"

"It looked like you had him to me, assuming you were the giant bat monster I saw"

"We fought, but I had to make you my priority"

"Shit" I gulped as I hopped off the bed onto the cold floor "I'm sorry, I messed up'"

"He had his mask off" Bruce continued as if I hadn't said anything "Did you see his face?"

"No, I saw a lot of faces, then my own face..."

"Like Luke in Empire" Barb mumbled.

"I guess so" I shrugged, pretending I didn't love it when she made movie references.

Barb paced back and forth chewing her pen and tweaking her glasses as she often did when she was thinking, her hair was tied up in a messy bun and her suit was unzipped down to her waist like a mechanic's overalls. Bruce looked a little worse for wear, brushing his stubbled face as he examined the screen of the Batcomputer still fully uniformed aside from the cape and cowl - it looked as though they'd been there for quite a while.

"Did you manage to catch anything from Stan?"

I explained everything I remembered about the conversation between Stan and the assassin, right up to his transformation into a giant bird.

"So it's some kind of organisation..." Bruce began.

"And it's all connected, Stan, Freeze, the Scarecrow" Barb continued.

"All of it" I concluded.

There were a few minutes of silence as Bruce tapped away at the keys. Barbara put down her notepad and placed her hand on my arm, stroking it with her thumb. Our eyes met as they often did - becoming fixed to one another, entranced. It was easy to forget when she wasn't around... How beautiful she was.

Bruce looked up from the Batcomputer "Are you ready to get back out there?" My eyes broke away from Barb's as she looked sharply at Bruce.

"Bruce!" Barb interjected, it was nice to hear the care in her voice "He needs to rest"

"I'm ready" I said, receiving a cutting look from Barbara as I did.

"Good" Bruce said.

"At least go home and collect one of your other suits" Barbara insisted, pointing at the suit I'd been wearing which was heaped on the floor near my feet.

"Fine" Bruce surrendered "Alfred will to take you home"

"Alright" I replied.

"We still have a few hours to dawn, you should go to Detective Yin - from what you said, she could be in danger"

*** Alfred delivered me safely to the apartment building soon after. We pulled up outside and the old butler sighed "Are you sure you don't need some rest Master Grayson?"

"I'm fine, honestly" I replied.

"If you're sure, sir"

"Actually, I do have a favour to ask"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I need your help with something... A gift"

"A gift, sir?"

"For a friend, I'll email you some details soon"

"Very good, sir"

I climbed from the car and smiled back down at Alfred "See you soon, Alf"

"Be safe, Master Grayson" Alfred smiled before driving off into the distance.

I walked inside and made my way to the apartment. I opened the door to find Roy asleep on the sofa and a spilt bottle of Corona on the rug in front of the TV.

"Gah" He gasped, bolting upright "Don't you knock?"

"No, I tend to just walk in... Since it's _my_ apartment"

"Fair point, good patrol?"

"Not at all"

I explained to Roy as briefly as I could the events of the evening.

"Yeah drugs'll do that to ya"

"Speaking from experience?"

"Hey, I'll try anything once"

"Uhm, fair enough?"

Roy shifted over and made a space on the couch for me to sit down. Throwing my bag over by the TV cabinet I did just that. "You gonna clean that up" I said, pointing at the beer that Roy had clearly spilt on the rug.

"Won't it just soak in?"

I rolled my eyes "Your home must be lovely"

"Currently my home is my car" Roy sighed falsely.

"Is this the part where you ask to stay here a little longer?"

"No..." He laughed "I didn't think I needed to ask"

"I'm sure Melissa will love..." I paused and thought of Barbara again, the way she stroked my arm... How natural it all felt.

"You OK buddy?" Roy asked, snapping me back to reality.

"Yeah, just... Thinking"

"Didn't you say you had to be somewhere?"

"Crap, yeah"

I walked over to the bookcase and opened the secret passage to my loft. It all looked so much more professional with the new equipment that Barb had installed. Three monitors lit up as I made my request "I need the home address of Detective Ellen Yin" the high tech computer responded immediately bringing the location up on screen.

I pulled on the heavily armoured uniform I'd been gifted, running my fingers along the red bat symbol on the chest.

"Upload location to my visor display"

I clipped on the domino mask and immediately in the corner were GPS coordinates of Yin's home. Stretching my arms and legs seemed a good idea, it gave me a feel for the manoeuvrability which had certainly been lessened by the armour - but not so much that it would slow me down in a fight.

"This place is cool" Roy said, startling me. I turned sharply to face him, he was fully costumed in his Red Arrow attire "Nice red hood, wonder where you got that idea"

"It's practical, in case of a fire"

" _Sure_ , you will be hearing from my lawyers"

"What are you doing anyway?"

"Coming with you"

"Oh no, absolutely not"

"Come on, I'll keep watch, I've been so bored"

"Fine, but I'm in charge"

"Ha, good one"

*** Yin lived in a relatively good neighbourhood of Gotham, not far from the district in which Melissa and her father resided. Yin's apartment was on one of the highest floors of the building and was complete with its own balcony.

Roy and I looked down on it from the roof of the building directly across the street.

"Well, her light's on" Roy stated, pointing at the light visible through the glass balcony doors.

"I'm going in" I said "You wait here, keep an eye on that exit"

"Yes, captain" Roy mocked.

I gave him a sarcastic smile and fired my grappling hook on to the roof of Yin's building so that I could swing easily on to the balcony. With little thought I jumped from my perch and soared into a graceful landing. Quickly looking back over my shoulder Roy gave a thumbs up. Sure that his gesture was meant as an insult I raised my middle finger with a smile before turning my attention to the glass door.

I could see a wall-mounted TV that was turned on to the 24 hour news channel. This wouldn't have been so curious but we were in the early hours of the morning, so it seemed a little odd. The couch facing the TV was unoccupied as far as I could tell. I had to go inside.

The balcony door slid open, it had been left unlocked. A voice blurted loudly from the TV as if it had been turned up to muffle all other noise in the area. I reached for the remote control on the arm of the couch and turned off the TV.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" A voice shot from behind me. Turning slowly, I saw Yin with wet hair wearing nothing but a towel, aiming her pistol at my head "You again... Here to shit on some more of my cases?"

"You're in danger" I told her.

"I'm a cop, it's in the job description" She said, scowling.

"Stan knows about you, I overheard him earlier tonight"

"You just can't stay out of anything can you" She snapped, lowering her gun and moving toward the couch.

"You have to listen to me, and get out of town"

"Yeah right, I'm not letting that bastard scare me"

"It's not just him you have to worry about, he's working with some heavy hitters"

"Like who?"

"Mr Freeze"

"Well he's locked up"

"The Scarecrow"

"Never heard of him"

"He's the one who put Gordon in the hospital"

"Gordon's an old man..."

"Ellen, do you want to die?"

"Ellen?" She snarled stubbornly.

"Well?"

"Of course I don't"

"Then you have to trust me, catch a train to Metropolis, Central City, anywhere! Just get away from the city while I sort this out"

"I am not going anywhere"

Sighing, I picked up her iPhone from the table beside the sofa and added my number to her phonebook "Look, if anything weird happens I want you to call me - and before you start, the number is untraceable"

"I can handle myself"

"I'm sure you think so, but these guys are not playing around"

"I'm going to pour myself a glass of wine, and go to bed" Yin said, getting to her feet "As much as I'd _love_ a superhero sleepover, I think you aught to leave"

"Fine" I said defeatedly, walking to the sliding balcony door. Yin smirked as I looked back through the glass door she was locking behind me - little did she know, I'd planted a bug in on her phone so that I could track her.

*** Roy and I arrived back at the apartment as daylight broke upon the horizon. Normally I'd have leapt straight into bed, but I had too much on my mind. I spent the early hours of the morning roaring through the streets on my motorcycle. First checking in at the hospital where Leslie explained that Nate would be waking up any day now. Then heading to the college library where Emily waited to greet me with a cup of coffee.

I flinched as I reached out for the cup, the first time my minor stab wounds had made a reappearance since the incident only a few hours before.

"Looking good, dude" Emily smiled.

"Thanks" I yawned.

"Rough night?" She asked as we made our way up the ancient library steps.

"You could say that"

"You went drinking with Roy didn't you"

"Not exactly" I said opening the door and gesturing Emily to step through.

"That dude is a bad influence"

"That _dude_ is my roommate for the foreseeable future"

"That sucks"

"Nah, he's alright"

"I guess he - " With a gasp Emily found herself covered in coffee being towered over by a rotund red-haired man.

The man snarled "Watch where you're going, girl" He looked over at me and his frown grew larger - it was Roland Daggett, my girlfriend's insufferable father.

"Mr Daggett" I nodded curtly.

"Circus boy" He mocked "I suppose I'll be seeing you this evening"

"This evening?"

"Yes, Melissa has insisted you attend"

"Attend?"

Roland huffed and turned his nose up at me and without another word strode out of the library doors.

"That asshole, do you know how hard it was to get my hands on this?" Emily growled pointing at the large coffee stain on her 'Suck it and See' T-shirt.

"I do, I remember you bidding on eBay for it"

"Alex Turner himself, wore this"

"So you say..."

"So MadHatter247 says"

"A trustworthy alias if ever I'd heard one"

"I gotta go clean up, I'll meet you at the usual table"

"We have a usual table?"

"Dude..."

"Alright, alright, see you in there" We went our separate ways and I sat down at one of the many unoccupied tables in the centre of the library.

Between the two largest bookshelves there was a large wooden door with 'office' written on it - beside the door a blonde girl with a long white t-shirt and fishnet stockings leaning against one of the shelves suspiciously, trying her best to look incognito. I examined the girl as she peered left and right pretending to look at her phone.

The door opened after a minute and Professor Crane walked out, turning left and walking behind the bookshelves which led to one of the side exits. Leaving a few seconds between them, the girl began to pursue the professor.

This was weird, I thought as I hopped to my feet.

The girl power walked after Crane with loud, blatant footsteps.

"What the hell!" She gasped as I appeared in front of her. Seeing her nose ring up close I realised the girl was Stephanie, who I'd seen fighting in the courtyard and seen again at the hospital with Leslie.

"Why are you stalking a teacher?" I asked.

"Do I know you?" She responded, examining my face with a frown.

"No"

"Then move, jackass" She barged into my shoulder and continued to follow Crane. I ran to catch up and began walking beside her. "Why are you following me?"

"I just watched you wait around for a Crane and then chase after him, that's weird"

She stamped her foot down and halted just before the side exit "Look, I -" She stopped a second, looking directly into my eyes. More calmly now she said "I guess I've frickin lost him now, douchewad"

"Douchewad?"

"Yeah, it means weird guy who follows me"

"Huh?"

"I remember you breaking up that fight, and appearing at the hospital... You're cute and everything but I prefer my men a little less 'stalkery'" Stephanie said "If I wanna follow a teacher around what's it to you?"

"Jesus, forget I said anything - go about your stalking" I said, beginning to walk away.

"What if I wanna stalk you now?" She said, following me.

I could see Emily sat down at a table looking over at me with a frown.

"Your girlfriend looks a little jealous, I'd better shoot" She smiled, seemingly a genuine smile "See you around, Dick"

"You know my name? You're definitely a stalker"

"Everyone knows your name... I'm Steph if you wanted to get my name tattooed on you somewhere... Freak"


	25. Chapter 25

**One Little Owl**

Melissa called me after I'd left the library that morning to tell me about her father's birthday party which was clearly what he'd been referring to when we had our encounter. As much as I didn't want to attend, I had to keep up appearances. My mind wandered for most of the afternoon, hovering over various topics. Was it fair to carry on going steady with Melissa when I kept thinking about Barb? What was Stephanie doing following Professor Crane? And why did she seem so damned familiar?

The whirlpool of thoughts only became worse with the addition of keeping an eye on Yin, worrying about the Owl, the Scarecrow, Stan...

It was only when Melissa planted a kiss on my cheek that the world around me sprung back into focus. I was sitting on the couch in my apartment, Roy was next to me munching loudly on Doritos and I was staring blankly at Pamela Anderson running in slow motion on the TV.

"Baywatch?" Melissa asked.

"Apparently" I replied, wide-eyed.

"If he had his way we'd be watching Ned Stark lose his head for the fiftieth time" Roy said, through a full mouth of food.

Melissa looked at him and rolled her eyes "How much longer did you say you were staying?"

Roy didn't answer, he simply grinned, flashing his dorito-filled teeth.

"Can I have a look at your suits?" Melissa asked, turning her attention to me.

"Sure?" I replied, perplexed.

"For tonight? I wanted to make sure our outfits didn't clash"

"I have two suits, both black"

"Two? You were adopted by a billionaire"

"I left a lot of stuff at the manor"

"Clearly" She rolled her eyes again "What about ties, surely you've got more than two?"

"More than two? Of course" I said, pausing "More than three? No"

Melissa got up and strolled over to the bedroom, opening the wardrobe and beginning to rummage.

"If you were single, you could just watch Baywatch tonight and not have to go to any parties" Roy said with a smirk.

"I heard that!" Came Melissa's voice.

I continued to watch the TV in a daze as David Hasselhoff traversed the beach in super slow motion, on his way to save lives in some ridiculous way. Then again who was I to talk?

"Hey" Melissa said, reentering the room "Why do you have a bow and arrow in your wardrobe?"

Roy spat out his Doritos and we looked at each other with wide-eyes. That idiot could have put his bow anywhere, but no, the bottom of the wardrobe seemed like a perfectly safe and secret place.

"I used to do archery... On weekends... At the Manor?" I said, stammering to think.

"So you brought this, but only two suits? Typical" She sighed, placing the bow and quiver down on the bed and resuming her search.

"Leave anything else in there?" I whispered angrily at Roy.

"No, I don't think so" He replied.

"Good" I snapped, striking him on the back of the head "Idiot"

*** The party was as extravagant as one would expect from an egotistical pharmaceutical mogul billionaire such as Daggett. Walls were adorned with pictures of the man himself and happy birthday banners which neglected to reveal the man's age, likely because he was much older than he'd want anyone to know.

Roy had agreed to run surveillance on Yin's apartment for the evening so that I didn't have to worry too much or duck out unexpectedly. Bruce had decided against attending the event, putting his focus on our investigation.

The guests were the usual Gotham socialites, people I had little to no interest in speaking to. Aside from perhaps Harvey Dent who waved across at our table from the bar. Due to my new position as boyfriend to the heiress Daggett, I'd been given the honour of sitting at the main table with Melissa, her father, Silver St. Cloud and a couple of Daggett's business associates.

Roland waved his large hairy fingers and signalled a waiter "More champagne!" he demanded in his usual impolite manner. Slamming his fist down on the table his attention shifted in my direction, something I'd feared since we sat down only fifteen minutes prior.

"So, boy" He said in a tone of mock-politeness "Silver tells me you're quite the gymnast?"

Silver flashed her pearly teeth at me as if she'd done me some kind of favour "Oh?" I said with my own mock-tone of interest.

"Says you could have been in the Olympics, if you'd wanted" His tone shifted more towards its natural dickishness.

"I don't know about that"

"Sounds about right"

"Daddy!" Melissa snapped "Give it a rest"

"What, I'm just saying" Roland replied "Spoiled kid, could have made something of himself but took the easy path"

Melissa's mouth opened in shock and she looked at me apologetically. I responded with a laugh, the perfect way to irritate a man like Roland.

"Nothing to say, boy?" He continued.

"Not really" I replied, nonechalantly.

"Too lazy to even defend yourself"

"Yep" I smirked, watching the veins on his pink forehead begin to throb.

"Suppose that's what happens when you grow up without a mother" He said, casually taking a sip from his champagne flute. _He went there. He really went there..._ It didn't shock me to hear words like that coming from a man as vile as he was, but from the looks of shock on Silver and Melissa's faces you'd think the words had come from somebody respectable.

"You know" I responded, doing my best to continue sounding smug "I wouldn't have thought a guy your size could suffer from small man syndrome"

"Excuse me?" Roland growled, curling a fist on the table. I looked directly at his hairy ringed fingers as they clentched together tightly, inviting him to respond with violence.

"I'm going to the bathroom" Melissa said, standing up. I felt her hand grasp my shoulder "And so are you!"

I was yanked to my feet, she was stronger than she looked. We waded through the crowd forcibly hand in hand, her grip tightening as we went.

"What the hell, Grayson?" She snapped.

"What? The guy's an asshole" I replied, perhaps a little too honestly.

"That may be, but he's my father, and it's his birthday"

"He brought my mother into it"

"I know, I know - god, I can't believe he did that" She shook her head as we walked out on to the large balcony which overlooked much of the city. Two other couples were out looking at the moonlit buildings, one romantically conjoined arm in arm - the other was very much opposite, using one another as props as they swayed drunkenly from side to side.

"Look" Melissa said as we approached the fenced ledge "I'll talk to him, I agree he went way too far"

"Thanks" I said.

"But he's never going to accept you when you wind him up like that"

"Accept me? Sorry but, when did I start dating your father?"

"Grayson..."

"No, really, why should I care what some pompous, egotistical douchewad thinks of me?"

"Douchewad?" Melissa laughed

"Yeah it means... Never mind"

"Do you want _me_ to take you seriously?"

"Of course"

"Well, my father is important to me"

"But he's such a..."

"I think I've figured out your opinion on him by now" She laughed again "And I know he's not perfect..."

"Putting it _mildly_ "

"But, he's still my father. And I want you guys to get on"

"What if I promise to _try_ "

"Try, but try hard"

"Oh trust me, it's gonna be hard"

*** The dinner passed as slowly and pleasantly as an evening with Killer Croc, if Killer Croc was a giant dick head who's head was so far up his... You get the picture.

I soon found myself on the balcony once again, this time it was much busier as the eating portion of the party was over. Everyone's favourite part had begun, the dancing, but three songs in I had to take a break.

" _Roy_ " I whispered covertly into my watch.

"Sup" Came his voice loudly in my earpiece.

" _Anything suspicious to report?_ "

"No sir" He said with a crunch.

" _Are you eating?_ "

"Of course, I've been sat on a rooftop staring at nothing for over an hour, I'm bored"

" _Yeah, sorry dude_ "

"You will be, she's got the curtains closed but she hasn't moved from the TV since I got here"

" _Got thermals on her?_ "

"Yeah, I'm not an amateur"

" _I'll make my way over there as soon as I can - this should be winding down any time now_ "

"Take your time party animal, Harper out"

I took out my phone and sent an encrypted message, I was planning to drop in on Spoiler on my way to Roy. She replied almost instantly with: _usual spot?_

I confirmed the meeting place and headed back inside to find Melissa, who had unfortunately decided to combat the awkwardness at the dinner table by drinking copious amounts of champagne. Lucky we were at her penthouse.

"Hey!" She slurred, throwing her arms over my shoulders.

"Hey, you" I said in my, _talking to drunk person_ , voice.

"I knew you could do it" She smiled.

"Do what?"

"Not upset my father, good job!"

"Anything for you"

"Aw, you're sweet" She stumbled forward and laughed.

"Maybe you aught to go to bed"

"Good idea, it's that'a way!" She pointed to a door at the other end of the large bar area. I supported her slightly with a linked arm and we hobbled slowly over to the door. The door was locked with a key code which Melissa typed in slowly enough for me to catch '2256' .

"This way" She pointed. Her room wasn't too far, we passed two open doors for an office and some kind of living area All noise from the party was completely blocked out by the time we'd gotten to Melissa's room. I flicked on the light to see the immaculately decorated room, which frankly was exactly how I'd imagine it.

Melissa threw herself on the bed dramatically.

"Will you stay with me?" She asked with a cheeky drunken grin.

"That's a _terrible_ idea" I laughed.

"I know, my father would kill you... For real"

"What did he think when you stayed over at my place?"

"He's oblivious when it's not under his roof... It's not like I tell him we have sex" She said, and then began to giggle and snort. Realising she'd made a noise like a pig she covered her mouth in embarrassment "Sorry!" She laughed again.

"Don't be, it's cute" She was cute, amazing in fact - and I did _really_ like her. Maybe all these thoughts about Barb were just my brain rebelling because I was happy.

"Do you need anything before I go?"

"You're leaving!?"

"Yeah, you need to get some rest"

"I know but I'll miss you"

"You'll be asleep about 30 seconds after I close the door"

"At least unzip my dress"

"Fine" I said, edging towards her as she sat up. She moved her long blonde hair over her shoulder and I zipped the dress down for her. Standing up she let it fall down and smiled. I pulled back the bed sheets and gestured her in like a chauffeur opening a car door.

"Y;know, I think I might..." Melissa began as she laid down and I covered her with the sheet.

"Might what?"

"Never mind, I'll tell you later"

"OK" I smiled, planting a kiss on her forehead "I'll call you in the morning"

"You better" She mumbled as she closed her eyes. I turned out the light, quietly closed the bedroom door and made my way back down the corridor to the party which grew louder as I got closer.

The office door we'd passed before was now closed, and a light was on. As I walked by, I heard a loud voice puncture the air.

"Sorted the problem?!" The voice shouted "I thought he was dealing with it himself?"

The voice paused, he was clearly on the phone.

"Ran out of time? Ridiculous. I'm going back to my party" It was Roland Daggett.

I heard a slamming which I could only assume was the phone being put down forcefully. He approached he door with a speed I didn't know he was capable of, which didn't give me enough time to get to the main door.

"What are you doing back here?" He snarled "Where's Melissa?"

"I was helping her to bed" I replied.

"I know what _that_ means"

"No, _Roland_ , you don't" I snapped "It means exactly what it means, I helped her get to bed, she's asleep in her room"

Roland approached me, puffing his chest out to assert his masculinity. His hairy sausage of a finger met me at eye level, the glint from his ugly silver ring forcing me to blink "You are not good enough for her" He growled.

"Whatever, I'm not going anywhere... So we can either respect your daughter's wishes and get on, or spend every meeting bickering - you choose"

Before he could respond I turned and charged through the door, disappearing into the crowd.

*** Spoiler was sat cross-legged on the rooftop when I finally arrived. Her head was bobbing up and down to the rhythm of her earphones. I used the opportunity to approach and give her a fright. As I edged towards her I thought in my head about the hilarious reaction I was going to get.

So when she circled 360 degrees and sweeped my leg, knocking me flat on my back, I was more than a little surprised.

"Ha!" She exclaimed, pointing down at me "You thought I had music on!"

"Oh please" I said, pulling myself up "I knew _all_ along"

"You so did not!"

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I did" I really, _really_ didn't.

"What's with the suit, and the hood - I nearly thought I had the wrong guy"

"Trying out a new look"

"Whatever, loser, what's up anyway?"

"Thanks.." I said with a scowl "Firstly I need your measurements"

"Excuse me?"

"You know, your sizes... Waist, neck, height et cetera"

"Like I'm gonna tell you my waist size"

"Fine..."

"I'll _text_ them to you"

"Thank you"

"So what else?"

"I'm putting the training on hold"

"What?! No, absolutely not!"

"I was taken down yesterday, and it could have been bad. I don't want you getting hurt"

"Taken down? Then you _need_ me!"

"If we'd been doing this longer, maybe"

"You can't do this to me, not again" She shouted, stamping her foot.

"I get that this is important to you, but right now it's too risky"

"You have _no idea_ how important this is to me" She growled, angrier than I'd ever heard her before "Why did I get stuck with the part time teacher, god! Superman would be here every fricking day showing me what to do"

"Superman works alone, to be fair"

"Oh yeah because you _know_ him, because you're _Nightwing_ " She said, beginning to mock me " _Ooh I'm Nightwing, I'm too important to train people because I know all the superheroes_ "

"You think this is gonna change my mind?" I laughed.

"Whatever, sidekick"

"What?"

"You heard me, Robin"

"I am not Robin"

"You are _so_ Robin"

" _Ohh Batman, let me carry your bags while you save Gotham_ "

"You are such a D-" My communicator beeped to signal that I'd received a text message. I raised my hand to silence Spoiler, the message appeared on my HUD:

 _Detective Yin: Get over here ASAP, need help!_

"I gotta go" I said, and began to run toward Yin's building.

"Oh no, you're not getting away that easy!" Spoiler shouted.

I ignored her and opened comms with Roy "Arrow, what's Yin doing?!"

"Still watching TV" He said with a crunch.

"She just messaged me saying she needs help"

"I'm telling you man, she hasn't moved"

"Something isn't right here" I paused for a second to jump off the building and swing to the next.

"Want me to go in?"

"No, keep an eye on her until I get there - she doesn't know you, no need to freak her out"

"Maybe she's asking you over for... Y'know"

"Really?"

"What, it's happened to me before"

"I bet it has"

*** Roy was perched in the same spot he'd waited in previously, overlooking Yin's apartment. Sure enough, the thermals from his binoculars didn't detect anything unusual in the apartment, and the detective appeared to be watching TV.

"I don't like this" I said.

"You don't like anything" Roy replied.

"She hasn't moved since you got here, you don't find that a little strange?"

"Maybe a little"

Roy and I turned to look at each other as a sudden noise of footsteps clanking on metal began to approach us. His bow was loaded and taut as quickly as my escrima sticks were unsheathed. My panic subsided quickly as the purple clad Spoiler reached the top of the fire escape.

"I told you... You weren't..." She panted "Getting away that easy"

"You know this chick?" Roy asked, relaxing his bow.

"Chick?" Spoiler growled as she tried to catch her breath.

"Spoiler, stay here with..." I paused and tried to whisper " _Are you Aresenal, or Red Arrow right now?_ "

"Dude..." Roy said with a scowl.

"Stay here with Speedy" I grinned.

" _Speedy?_ " Spoiler laughed.

" _Spoiler?_ " Roy retorted.

I fired my line over to the building opposite and leaped at the precise moment of connection, soaring somewhat gracefully on to the balcony. The drapes were pulled shut, but a small gap allowed me to peer inside before I entered. To my relief, I could see the back on Yin's head. The detective was, as Roy had told me, sat on the couch watching TV.

I gently wrapped my knuckles on the glass to get her attention - _no answer_. I tried again, this time slightly louder - _no answer_. Once more, much louder... _Still no answer_.

This wasn't right, I had to go in. Unholstering my sticks for the second time that evening, I slid open the door which once again hadn't been locked. The room was immaculate, as it was on my last visit. The main light was off, lamp light seemed to give the room a softer atmosphere.

"Ellen?" I called to her, crouching defensively, checking every doorway. "Yin?" I called again to no avail. Switching to thermals it seemed there was noone else in the apartment, so I moved closer.

I put my hand on the detective's shoulder, causing her head to slouch backwards. Her eyes were wide open, but she wasn't looking at me. Her once luminous skin had turned a pale white, and her mouth was agape. She'd been dead for hours.

I felt a lump in my throat as I looked down at her left arm, which was tied round with a piece of string, beneath which was a distinct bleeding needle mark. The AC above her had been set to the highest temperature, giving the impression to Roy that she was still alive.

In front of the body, laid out neatly on the coffee table was a needle and various drug aparatus, including a spoon and some powder which was clearly Vertigo.

"Everything good?" Said Roy's voice in my ear.

"She's dead" I replied coldly.

"What? How?"

I was ready to explain, when a smell overpowered me, a stench of death, of rotting flesh. Ellen Yin was dead, but she wasn't _that_ dead.

A creaking floorboard was my only warning, but it was enough. Spinning on the spot I managed to deflect the throwing knife in time with my escrima sticks. The Owl stood in the doorway to Yin's bedroom, brandishing a pair of large hooked knives.

I wasn't going to lose this time. Leaping forward I launched myself at him with a strike which he managed to block with one of his knives, taking the opportunity he attempted to slice at my stomach. Easily, I pulled myself backwards, narrowly avoiding the blade.

Slashing frantically the Owl forced my backwards into the centre of the room. I met a downward strike of his blade with a firm kick to his torso, following with a double hit on his crown with both of my sticks.

"Had enough, birdy?" I taunted.

The feathered assassin didn't utter a word.

We began to circle, staring each other off with our weapons at the ready. The Owl flailed, not to injure me, but intending to make me flinch. I didn't flinch. He swiped again, this time meeting the escrima stick in my right hand. With a counter-swing I knocked the blade flying from his hand.

The circling continued.

"You're gonna pay for what you've done" I told him.

"Do you truly believe you'll win?"

"I truly believe there's a padded cell in Arkham with your name on it"

"Locking me up will not stop us"

"It's a start!" I exclaimed, flying forward once more, this time connecting a fist with his jaw. My feathered friend seemed to have been caught off guard and fell flat on his back with a powerful thud.

Seemingly out cold, the bird man twitched for a second and his head flopped to the side. As quickly as I could, I pulled out a pair of cuffs and approached the limp assassin. Hand outstretched to grab his wrist, I got what I should have been expecting. His blade clinked against the hard body armour that protected my chest.

A hard kick to the shin knocked me off balance, giving him a second to get to his feet. I was ready to take him down, but it didn't matter. A whizzing object pierced the purple drapes and hit the Owl on the upper right of his back.

Face-first, my opponent hit the floor, with a much harder thud than before. A red arrow protruding from his back.

"Relax" Roy said before I could complain "It was a none-lethal hit"

The red archer cautiously entered the room, Spoiler in tow.

"Nice place" Spoiler said, looking around. Her eyes caught sight of Yin "Holy shit!"

Seeing the girl running to help her I said "It's too late, she's gone"

"Vertigo overdose" Roy said "Didn't think she'd be the type"

"She wasn't" I said, pointing at the Owl "It was him"

"Why'd he stick around if he wanted it to look like an accident?"

"Your guess is as good as mine"

"He text you right?" Spoiler asked.

"Yeah, it had to be him"

"Then maybe he was gonna set you up"

"She has a point" Roy said.

"Thanks" Spolier replied excitedly.

"If that's true then we need to get him tied..." I began, but was stopped by the sight of two identical Owl-masked assassins standing in the doorway. One holding a Katana, the other a knife similar to the ones held by the assassin I'd been fighting.

My opponent got to his feet and ripped the arrow from his back without so much as flinching "I am but a Talon" He began "A Talon on the claw of a much larger beast"

The 'Talon' with the katana sheathed his sword, and with inhuman speed flung a pellet at the floor. All three men vanished in a puff of smoke.

"After them!" I shouted, running toward the balcony. The three Talons were already atop the adjacent roof and running away fast. Attaching my line I swung straight past the building in the hope of heading them off. Roy, Spoiler wrapped around his waist, followed as fast as he could.

The buildings were level now, so it was just a case of being faster than the enemy who had about a hundred metres on me. Luckily I _was_ fast.

With every leap and bound I seemed to be getting closer. I launched a batarang in the hope of knocking the centre owl off balance, to my surprise he caught it without even looking and then flipped in the air, launching a rotating knife at my head.

I dodged, following it with my head and eyes as it passed me. Which was when I realised I wasn't the target. Stopping dead I shouted "Spoiler, get down!"

 _Too late_ , the blade pierced the girl's arm, and knocked her to the ground.

"Shit!" Spoiler shouted. I thought the same as I looked behind me again, the Talons were gone.

Roy pulled Spoiler to her feet as I approached them "Why'd you stop?" She snarled.

"You're hurt" I replied.

"I'm fine, it only hit me in the arm!" She shouted "They killed your friend, you could have stopped them"

"Your safety comes first, and considering you shouldn't have even been here in the first place I have to be extra careful"

"Oh, screw you douchewad, I was trying to help!"

"Stephanie?"


	26. Chapter 26

**What Good Can Drinkin' Do**

The apartment had seen better days. But in all honesty it had seen worse ones too, it was just a different _kind_ of messy. The secret bookcase door hung wide open, and the couch was strategically placed by the entrance to stop any unwanted intruders. On it was a heap of colourful costumes, purple, black and red under three empty pizza boxes.

Myself, Roy and Stephanie sat in a triangle on the floor in front of the TV, Netflix was signaling for us to 'Continue Watching.' Stephanie had on one of my larger T-shirts and a pair of my finest Gotham University sweatpants, her arm was bandaged up where the knife had hit it. Roy was flexing in a vest and boxer shorts, and I'd gone for a combination of vest and sweatpants.

Considering we were usually a talkative bunch, it had been reasonably silent between arriving at the apartment, ordering the pizza, receiving it and eating it.

"So Bruce Wayne is Batman right?" Stephanie said suddenly, shattering the silence.

"What? No!" I lied.

"Whatever man, it's so obvious now I know you're Nightwing."

"She has a point," Roy said.

"Shut up, Roy," I said, "I'm gonna be in enough shit with Batman over this."

"Aw, you gonna be in _twubble_?" Steph mocked.

"Look" Roy began, reaching into his rucksack, "I think I have the perfect solution for this shitty night" In his hand was a large bottle of Jack Daniels.

Steph smiled in response, I wasn't as pleased with the idea, but I couldn't deny I needed a drink.

Roy returned from the kitchen with three large glasses, filling them each with ice and a half inch of the whiskey.

"I say we play a game" He suggested.

"What game?" Steph replied.

"Never have I ever?"

"Good idea!" She replied, grinning at me.

"No" I began "I'm not..."

"I'll start - never have I ever..." She said, ignoring me completely "Been drunk."

As per the rules of the game, having been drunk in our lives, Roy, Steph and I all took drinks.

"That's your question?" I laughed.

"I wanted to start easy."

"Alright, alright" Roy interrupted "Never have I ever, slept with an alien"

Steph raised her eyebrow and looked at me, I paused for a second and then took a sip - glaring at Roy as I did.

"What?!" Steph exclaimed, "That is such bullshit."

"No, he did" Roy laughed "An alien princess no less."

"Can we move on?" I insisted.

"Sure, it's your turn."

"Alright..." I thought for a second "Never have I ever... Been kicked out of school" The comment was aimed at Roy, but Steph drank too.

"I kicked a cheerleader into an empty swimming pool" She explained after taking a gulp.

"Seriously?"

"Bitch had it coming."

"Cold..." Roy said, "She die?"

"Nope, she wore a full body cast to prom though."

"Nice" Roy laughed.

I gave him a judging look "You'd better be more careful out in the field."

"Lighten up, it was years ago" Steph smiled "What did you get kicked out for?"

"Which school?" Roy smirked.

"Sorry, didn't realise I was in the presence of a badass."

"Captain Badass was his first choice for a codename when he joined the Titans" I laughed.

"Quiet you... Let me think... I guess the worst one was when I TP'd the gym and it caught fire" Roy said, proudly.

"Ouch" She laughed "Still, I was expecting worse, can we circle back to the sleeping with an alien thing?" She turned to me "Were you like, in peril in outer space? Planet of the Nymphos or something?"

"Do you think this is _Star Trek_?" I replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't know, I don't watch it."

"I'll tell Captain Kirk you said that"

"Captain Kirk is real?"

"Thought you didn't watch it?"

"Shut up, next question" She paused for a second "Oh wait, my turn. OK... Never have I ever..."

She was interrupted by a loud bump as the door opened slightly and hit the back of the sofa. The three of us leaped to our feet and turned to the door.

"Expecting visitors?" Roy whispered.

"No!" I whispered back, slowly reaching for my costume.

"Grayson, stop messing around" Came a voice from behind the door, it was Melissa.

"Melissa, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Oh shit, is that your girlfriend?" Stephanie laughed.

"Shut up!"

"Who's that, Grayson, who are you with?"

"Uh, nobody," I said, frantically scrambling to grab the costumes from the sofa "Let me just tidy up a sec and move the sofa" I thrust the outfits into Steph's hands and signaled Roy to rush the booze into the kitchen.

"Why is the sofa behind the door?" Melissa shouted.

"I'm spring cleaning" I called, pushing my guests through the bookcase door and closing it behind them.

"At 6:30am?" Melissa said, looking puzzled as I slid the sofa to one side and let her in. She squinted and peered around the room "Well you've done a fine job" she nodded toward the pizza boxes. Last I'd seen her she was fairly drunk, so I assumed I'd be dealing with a hangover, but as usual, she looked flawless.

"Why are you here if it's 7:30?" I asked.

"You could try and sound a little happy to see me."

"I'm always happy to see you, it's just a little early" I smiled "Can I take your coat?"

"No, I'm a little cold... Wait, three pizza boxes?" She said suddenly, turning to look at them "You had some guests?"

"I uh, uhm" Lying was an essential part of my life, sad as that was to admit, but at that moment I had nothing. I could have sworn a vein was beginning to rise on Melissa's forehead when salvation appeared through the door.

Roy bounded through the door with his arm around Steph and a newspaper in his hand "I thought you were tidying this place?" Roy said.

"I had pizza with them," I said, sighing with relief when Melissa turned to face them.

"Oh," She replied.

"You remember Roy?"

"Considering I saw him yesterday, yes."

"This is his... Girlfriend, Stephanie"

Steph's eyes widened, clearly horrified by the thought, while Roy's face became incredibly smug, clearly delighted by it.

"Hi, I'm Melissa" Melissa smiled at Steph "I'm Grayson's girlfriend when he isn't disappearing or sleeping all day..."

"Oh thanks," I said.

Steph smiled back trying to look pleased with being perceived as Roy's girlfriend "Pleased to meet you."

Roy burped loudly, causing Melissa to screw her face up "So, how long have you been together?" She said, avoiding looking at Roy.

"Uhm, not long," Steph said.

"Like a day," Roy said, "Love at first sight you know, how could she resist?"

Steph rolled her eyes.

"Well, each to their own I suppose" Melissa turned to face me "Can we talk in private?"

"Sure" I replied, gesturing to the bedroom.

We walked over to the bedroom and shut the door.

"She seems nice," Melissa said in a low voice "Wonder what she sees in Roy."

"You know Roy, he's a real charmer" I laughed.

"Isn't he moving on soon?"

"It almost sounds like you don't like him being here..."

"Very funny..." She sighed "Anyway, I came over to say thank you."

"For what?"

"I heard what you said to my father about getting along when you left my room, I just wanted you to know how much it means to me" She smiled mischievously and planted a kiss on my lips.

Taking a step back, she untied the belt of her long coat, and let it slide to the floor. I immediately realised why she wouldn't let me take her coat.

She was stood smiling at me in nothing but her lacy black bra and panties.

Wide-eyed and grinning like a kid on Christmas I said: "I'm never going to be mean to your father ever again."

I kissed Melissa goodbye five separate times before she actually left. Her timing had been impeccable, and I thought if it wasn't for her having to get to class and Roy and Steph hadn't been in the next room we'd probably have spent the entire day in bed.

Roy and Steph were sat together on the sofa, their heads in their phones.

"That was gross," Steph said, looking up from her phone.

"Whatever" I smiled.

Roy brought my mood back down with little effort "I checked in with Barb, they're reporting Yin's death as a suicide."

"Damn it" I growled.

"She's going to tell her father what really happened and see if she can aid the investigation."

"That's something I guess."

"I googled owls and Gotham," Steph said holding up her phone "Didn't come up with anything interesting. Apparently, the founding families of Gotham liked them though, lots of owl statues in some of the old buildings and shit like that."

"Maybe that's what gave them the idea" Roy suggested.

"Maybe," I said, pondering, "I think there's more to it than that though."

"What was it they called themselves?" Roy asked.

"Claws?" Steph said.

"No" I replied, "They called themselves Talons."

Steph began to type silently. Her eyes widened "Holy shit."

"What is it?"

"A nursery rhyme."

"Is it relevant?"

She began to read aloud "Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime. They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed. Speak not a whispered word about them, or they'll send the Talon for your head."

"Well, that's creepy," Roy said, opening a packet of chips "Anything else?"

"It's like this whole conspiracy theory, real Infowars type shit," Steph said, "There's an old picture here, look."

She showed me the phone, zooming on an old image that had been scanned in. It looked like some kind of masquerade ball. Five people were stood in a row, one woman and four men. Each wearing an owl mask.

"It's a collection of rumours, but it's pretty messed up," Steph said, pulling the phone back and continuing to read "The only name here Sebastian Clark, who apparently killed his own dad for writing a book about the court."

"Send me the link, I've got to get this info to the Batcave," I said.

"Done"

I opened my phone and read down the page. The information was scattered and vague, but there were a few points of note. The owner of the website had heavily implied that the Court still existed and ran Gotham from the behind the scenes. The information on the Talons ranged from stories about kidnapped orphans to an army of undead monsters.

"We need to find out who made this site," I said.

"One sec," Steph said, "I can check that."

"Thanks"

"Found him, Colin Birch, lived not far from me."

"Lived?"

"He died last year."

"Bastards" Roy cut in with a mouthful of food.

I continued to scroll to the bottom of the page, which ended with a single pixelated image, it looked very out of place as if it had been added in a rush. As I peered closer, I could make out that it was a very zoomed in image of a desk through someone's window. I squinted, and my stomach suddenly turned. Barely visible on the edge of the desk was a large silver ring, with two rubies encrusted on it.

Just like the one on Roland Daggett's finger.

"Shit."


	27. Chapter 27

**Murder of Crows**

My thoughts were spiralling out of control as I walked to class with Emily. I hated Daggett, no question, he was someone I'd disliked from the moment I'd met him, but somehow I was finding it hard to reconcile with the fact that he was a bonafide villain in cahoots with what appeared to be an evil secret society. And this was way too close to home.

"Dude, are you even listening?" Emily said, stopping in front of me and clicking her fingers.

"Of course" I lied.

"What did I say then?" She scowled, folding her arms.

"Something really interesting, as always" I smiled.

She punched me lightly on the arm "How was the party? You and Melissa's dad get on OK?"

"Party was OK, Melissa and I had a great time. Her dad peeled back a few layers from his asshole exterior..."

"Really?"

"To reveal more layers of asshole-ishness"

"Oh, is he really that bad?"

"Worse"

"Wow, that _is_ bad." Said Emily "You seem happier though, with her I mean, I think she's good for you."

"Thanks Em, that means a lot."

"Alright dude, don't like, cry or anything"

We shared a laugh.

Not long after, we arrived at class and took our respective seats. Emily next to her dim-witted friend and me next to Melissa, who kissed me on the cheek as I sat down. I had to shake off my feelings concerning her father for the timebeing, it wasn't her fault he was so very terrible.

She whispered in my ear "Make sure if you speak to Crane, you cough a lot"

"Why?" I whispered back.

"Because you missed class yesterday, I told him you were sick"

"Oh right, of course, thanks"

"Don't mention it" She said, holding my hand "You want to come over tonight?"

"To your place?"

"Yeah"

"What about your dad?"

"He's out for a meal with Silver?"

For once, that wasn't good news, I'd have liked to speak to him "In that case, I'm there" I smiled. I could at least use it as an excuse to rummage through his stuff.

"Good, I can't wait to spend some time alone together"

"Me neither"

"Something you'd like to share with the class, Mr Grayson?" Crane said, appearing as if from nowhere.

"No sir" I coughed "Just catching up on yesterday's lesson, because you know, I was so sick"

"Yes, maybe they should have considered putting you down" He droned "Miss Daggett is an exceptional student, I'm starting to think I should seat you elsewhere to minimise the risk of your incredible inneptitude rubbing off on her"

"It's OK sir, I'll try and put him back on the straight and narrow" Melissa smiled.

"Very well, turn to page 131 of your textbooks and we'll begin."

The night rolled around quickly that day, my anticipation seemed to have sped time up tremendously. I packed my armour-plated suit into the bottom of my gym bag and told Roy to be on standby. I sent a text to Steph who had promised to lay low until her arm was better, explaining my plan.

Bag Tethered to the back of my bike I sped off toward the centre of the city, arriving at the parking garage which was within walking distance of the Daggett's Penthouse. A convenienty placed dumpster in an alley next to the building made for a great place to hide my suit. The bag was fitted with a sensor which would alert me if anyone went near it.

On reception, I was greeted by a smiling Security Guard who had been given instructions to let me in the building.

"This way Mr. Grayson, Miss Daggett is waiting for you upstairs" He said.

"Thanks" I smiled.

He gestured toward the elevator which pinged as the doors slowly opened. To my surprise, Silver and Roland stepped out, stopping when they saw me.

Silver looked incredibly glamorous in her long evening gown and her fur coat. Roland looked pink and uncomfortable as if he'd expended all of is energy forcing himself into a suit that was three sizes too small.

"Dick" Silver smiled, kissing me on the cheek "How are you?"

"Hey Silver, I'm great, thanks" I replied. I nodded at Roland who reluctantly nodded back, barely making eye contact with me. His face was looking extra punchable.

"Don't forget to tell Melissa she looks amazing" Silver whispered "She spent a long time picking out that outfit, she was so nervous, it was very cute"

I chuckled "Don't worry I will"

"We'd better be going, have a great date!"

I waved them off as they stepped out and climbed into the back of a limousine which had pulled up in front of the building.

"Sir" The Security Guard said, gesturing once again to the elevator which he had stopped from closing with his foot.

I stepped in and gave the guard a curt nod as the doors closed.

Another ping later and I stepped out into the familiar penthouse. It looked much bigger than it had the last time now that there were no party-goers. In the middle of the large open-plan hall, was a small circular table with two chairs pulled up to it. In the centre of the table was a single rose in a glass vase. I couldn't help but smile.

"Take a seat!" A voice echoed from a doorway to my left. From the smell in the air, I could assume she was in the kitchen.

I sat down as ordered, trying to enjoy the moment while the thoughts of investigating Roland nibbled at the back of my brain.

The thoughts faded away as Melissa stepped out from the kitchen. She wearing a dress which made my t-shirt and jeans combination feel quite cheap and nasty by comparison. The dress was long and flowing, and matched her bright red lipstick.

They call it a moment of clarity, when in an instant you come to accept a truth that was impossible to see before. And I was having one. All my doubts, the thoughts of Barb, melted away as she walked over to me.

I stood to greet her, unable to contain my childish grin.

"Sit down" She laughed, kissing me on the lips and lightly pushing me back into the chair.

"You look amazing" I said.

"Thank you"

"No, like, amazing"

"You're in a good mood" She giggled.

"Sit down" I said.

"I can't, I'm cooking!" She said, walking back toward the kitchen.

"In that dress?"

"Yes..." She snarled playfully "Admitedly I didn't really think this through. I'll be back in a second!"

I watched her walk speedily back through the kitchen door before, reappearing with a pair of oven gloves on which contrasted horribly with her magnificent dress. In her hands was a large metal dish.

"You like Spaghetti Bolognese, right?" She asked.

"Hate it" I said with a wink.

"Well you're gonna eat it, Grayson" She stopped suddenly on the spot "Shit! Plates!"

"It's OK I'll get them" I laughed.

"No, this is your treat, I'll be back, don't move!"

She again disappeared into the kitchen, this time for much longer.

I craned my neck to see what was going on, before hearing a loud crash and an exclamation of curse words that would have made even Roy blush.

"Melissa? Is everything OK?" I asked.

No answer.

I gave it a few seconds and called out again "Melissa?"

She didn't respond.

With that, I stood up and moved suspisciously to the kitchen. I could hear Melissa sobbing quietly as I peered around the door. She was sat in a heap on the floor surrounded by smashed plates with bolognese sauce on her beautiful dress.

"I'm sorry" She whispered as she looked up at me "I've made a total mess of everything"

I walked over to her, moving some of the debris with my foot and sitting down next to her on the kitchen floor. She was looking at me with tears in her eyes, I looked around the room and began to laugh.

"Hey!" She snapped "It's not funny, I really -"

"I love you" I said with a smile.

Melissa's expression shifted instantly to some kind of delighted shock "Excuse me?"

"You heard me"

"I... I love you too" She said, before bursting into tears again and throwing her arms around me. I kissed her passionately for a moment before helping her to her feet.

"Go get out of these clothes and I'll tidy up the mess" I said.

"No, I'll do it" She insisted.

"How about this, get changed quickly and we'll sort it together"

"Fine" She scowled.

"I'll order the take out"

I pressed the remote for the lounge lights and they softly came back on as the movie's credits rolled, Melissa's head was resting on my chest. She gave out an adorable snort which could only mean that she was asleep. I kissed her on the head and stealthily moved myself out from under her. Before sneaking out of the room I covered her with a blanket.

For an expensive building, the fire escape was very wobbly. I clambered down it as quickly as I could to grab my gym bag.

It was an odd feeling to go from watching movies and cuddling with Melissa, to climbing into a dumpster and changing into my suit. At least with my equipment on I could get back up the building without having to use the fire escape again.

I pulled myself on to the balcony and crept into the hall. The table was still in the centre with the single rose on it. Activating sonar on my VISR I could see Melissa hadn't moved from the sofa, and that there was an empty panic room connected to the lounge, but other than that there didn't appear to be any secret rooms.

The elevator pinged, I quickly zipped up to the ceiling and grabbed on to the chain which held up the central light fitting above the table, turning off my sonar. Roland stepped out the elevator and looked around the room suspiciously.

"It's clear, my daughter must be in bed" He said quietly.

"Good" said another voice, it was muffled and strange, but it definitely wasn't Silver.

"Do you have to wear that in my home?" Daggett growled.

"Yes" Said the voice. He stepped from the elevator, revealing himself to be none other than the Scarecrow.

"I've had the place thoroughly checked for bugs"

"I prefer not to take any chances"

"Why are you here? I left my fiancee at a bar for this"

"It couldn't wait"

"Spit it out then!" Daggett barked.

The two men walked toward the balcony, stopping by the door.

"The Parliament feels that your actions of late have been too conspicuous"

"Meaning?"

"You are drawing too much attention"

"Ridiculous!"

"Using the Parliament's influence to become the Mayor..."

"Is my right!" Daggett snapped, not even trying to be quiet at this point "I've contributed to the Parliament for years! I brought you into the fold! And you dare to come into my home and say this to me?"

"The Parliament is aware of your contribution" Scarecrow said flatly "But you are to resign from the mayoral campaign, or there will be consequences"

"You jumped up little cretin, I gave you the components to make your shitty little compound! The drug that put you in the position you're in now and you choose to side with them! I will end you!" His large finger waving in the Scarecrow's masked face "This isn't even my doing, that idiot Stan has been getting himself in all the papers, his behaviour should not affect my freedom to do as I please"

"It's a simple request, Roland. And Stan is being taken care of"

"Well I deny your simple request, I'll speak directly to the court, I will not be dictated to by some... Initiate pawn"

"So be it" Scarecrow said, raising his right hand.

A small puff of gas sprayed into Roland's face, causing him to stagger backwards and clutch his throat. He stumbled into a wall, seemingly trying to grab at something.

"They won't get here in time, Roland" Scarecrow said gesturing to a button which Daggett had just pressed.

"You... Freak... You'll die for this..." Roland gasped, beginning to look around frantically as if something was flying around him "Argh, get away! Get back!"

I'd seen enough. I jumped down and kicked Scarecrow hard in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground before launching a Batarang at the elevator button to stop him from escaping.

Roland's arms were flailing and he was screaming loudly, there was now way Melissa could sleep through what was happening. I pulled up the hood in case she came out of the lounge.

"Roland!" I shouted, he'd run out on to the large balcony. I reached down to cuff Scarecrow, who kicked me hard in the stomach and rolled backwards to his feet. Before he could activate his wrist device I hurled a Batarang at him, piercing his deep into the palm of his hand. He let out a scream before pulling it out and attempting to throw it back at me.

"Shit" I looked out to Roland, he was near the edge of the balcony, trying to climb over the railings. I looked back between the Scarecrow and Daggett. It pained me to do it, but I couldn't let him die.

I ran out on to the balcony and the Scarecrow disappeared almost instantly.

"Roland" I called out, holding my hands up "It's OK, I'm here to help"

"Stay back!" Roland screeched "Stay away from me, I won't let you take me"

Blue lights had begun to fill the streets below as Roland climbed over the railing and held on from the other side. The button he'd pressed must have been a silent alarm.

"See, the cops are here to help you, you're safe!" I tried to explain.

A crowd was gathering in the street below. Roland was flinching again as if something was trying to grab at him.

"Roland, please! Think about Melissa!" I pleaded "Don't be afraid, don't let it take over"

"Get these things away!"

"Roland it's the gas, it's not real, none of it"

"Argh, get away! Get away from me!" He swatted with his hand "Get away!" He swatted again, letting go with both.

Time slowed down. I lunged forward like I never had before, hands outstretched as Roland toppled backwards.

Luck was on my side as I managed to grab Roland by the front of his suit jacket. He was leaning out, trying to fight me off as I desperately clung to him, planting my feet as hard as I could into the foot of the railing. I was strong, strong enough to hold his weight, but the more he writhed, the more my grip loosened.

A voice on a megaphone in the street below blurted out "This is Officer Hunt of the GCPD, please don't do this, please pull Mr Daggett back in to safety"

That was all I needed, a crowd of people beneath me thinking I was trying to kill him. I felt like shouting back that I was trying, but they wouldn't hear me.

It all happened in a flash.

A deafening screech from behind me turned my head, Roland brought his fists down hard on to my arms. I let go.

"No!" I screamed. It was too late. Roland Daggett was dead.

Melissa Daggett, my girlfriend, the woman I loved, had just lost her father... And was pointing a gun right at me.


End file.
